Highlights
- Getting the rest of the IMF loan depends on opening up dollar rate
- $2.31 billion has been disbursed till now
- Work on technical matters going on now
- Bangladesh met reserve targets by IMF in September, December and March
Bangladesh getting the fourth and fifth instalments of the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now depends on the condition of letting the market decide the US dollar rate, said Governor of Bangladesh Bank Ahsan H Mansur yesterday (24 April).
Bangladesh is about to get $4.7 billion from the IMF, among which $2.31 billion has already been disbursed, and $2.39 billion is still pending.
Mansur, along with Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed and 10 others are currently in Washington DC to participate in the spring meeting of the World Bank-IMF.
The meeting started on 21 April and will end tomorrow (26 April).
However, the Bangladesh team had a separate meeting with IMF officials on the sideline of the event on Wednesday (23 April).
Asked about this meeting, Mansur said, “We have made some progress, which is at the final stage. We are hoping to get a positive response within a day or two. Work is going on regarding the technical matters now.”
Replying to a question, the BB governor added, “There is only one thing- making foreign exchange market-centric. IMF is firm on this issue, and we must decide whether we will do it before or after getting the loans.”
Golam Mortoza, press minister of Bangladesh attached to Washington DC, shared a video of BB Governor Mansur speaking to journalists, where the governor further said, “The foreign exchange is currently stable. The situation of the dollar is also good, which is why there has been huge imports during Ramadan. Besides, Bangladesh has met IMF’s target regarding reserve during September, December and March.”
Mansur stated that there is nothing to disagree with the IMF, but he does not agree with the IMF’s projection that Bangladesh’s growth will be 3.3% this fiscal year.
The governor hoped the growth rate would be higher.
An IMF mission had visited Bangladesh for two weeks to review the third and fourth tranche of loans.
Upon completing the visit, IMF officials said on 17 April that more discussions will follow and the third and fourth tranches of loans might be disbursed at the end of June if everything remains okay.
Discussion on this issue is currently going on in Washington DC.
Bangladesh participated in the loan programme IMF on 30 January 2023, receiving the first and second tranches of loans in February and December of that year while getting the third instalment of the loan in June 2024.
