Dhaka, Feb. 17 -- Bangladesh is preparing to launch a Purchasing Managers' Index or PMI to assess the dynamics of the economy more accurately.

The PMI is used to determine the direction of economic trends in a country's manufacturing and service sectors.

Data will be collected from 500 institutions across the country monthly, and following analysis, the PMI index will be released at the start of each month, M Masrur Reaz, the chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB), announced during a press conference at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry office in Dhaka's Motijheel on Saturday.

The first PMI index of the country is expected to be published in May.

The MCCI, in collaboration with the private research organi...