91% of firms upbeat on trade growth amid rising costs

Detailed summary

Despite rising costs and trade uncertainty, 91 percent of Bangladeshi businesses remain confident about expanding their international trade over the next two years, according to a…

Despite rising costs and trade uncertainty, 91 percent of Bangladeshi businesses remain confident about expanding their international trade over the next two years, according to a new HSBC survey.

More than half of them, or 56 percent, said they were “very confident”.

However, rising operating costs remain a major concern. Energy is the biggest cost pressure for local businesses, cited by 50 percent of firms, closely followed by raw materials at 49 percent.

Overall, 70 percent of Bangladeshi businesses reported higher costs, while 76 percent expected their expenses to rise further over the next two years.

These pressures have also increased working capital requirements, with 64 percent of companies saying their requirements had risen since 2025.

Trade uncertainty is adding to the pressure. The survey found that 31 percent of Bangladeshi firms had been negatively affected by tariffs and trade uncertainty, while 32 percent reported a resulting fall in revenue.

Looking ahead, 37 percent of local businesses expected their revenue to decline further over the next two years, compared with the global average of 28 percent.

The findings are from the HSBC Global Trade Pulse Survey 2026, which collected the views of 10,000 senior business leaders across 26 markets between September 18 and October 6 this year. Bangladesh was among the markets surveyed, with 250 business leaders taking part.

The survey covered businesses with annual global turnover ranging from $50 million to more than $2 billion.

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