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Bangladesh needs big loans to finance ambitious projects, says AMA Muhith
Bangladesh needs to access big ticket global credit to finance its ambitious development projects even if it means paying a higher interest rate, says Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
Published : 8 Oct 2016, 04:51 AM
Updated : 8 Oct 2016, 07:16 AM
Muhith told reporters that Bangladesh would need to slowly move away from the usual easy-repayment, low interest World Bank loans.
The finance minister is now in Washington to attend the annual World Bank-IMF meet.
"Our economy has improved, our development ambitions have grown. We need big loans from sources like the IBRD to finance our mega projects," Muhith said.
"The prime minister has given her consent, we can look for big-ticket loans for our mega projects."
Since Bangladesh has evolved from Least Developed Country (LDC) to a middle income country, the usual flow of development aid may somewhat dry up, Muhith said.
If Bangladesh can finance mega projects like the Padma railroad bridge with its own resources, Muhith feels it can handle big-ticket loans even if it means paying a higher rate of interest.
“The interest on our short term loans now stands at $24 billion. Our GDP is about $200 billion. So we are fine,” he said
“Our private sector has developed and will continue to do so. We need to invest more so we can support them.
The finance minister is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the three-day annual meet.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde have been both re-appointed for another five years.
At the opening ceremony executives from both agencies urged world leaders to cooperate in order to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
No World Bank initiative would succeed without the cooperation of the finance ministers and central bank governors from the 188 member countries attending the meeting, said WB chief Jim.
He urged those attending to exercise their political influence to mould government policy.
He also called on them to pursue efforts to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
After the ceremony, Muhith met with WB South Asia Vice President Annette Dixon.
He also held meetings with senior officials of the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to discuss how the government could support the private sector.
The finance minister is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Arun Jaitley on the second day of the meeting.
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