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Bangladesh hopes to get $2 billion more in credit from World Bank
Finance Minister AMA Muhith hopes Bangladesh will get $2 billion more in credit from the World Bank as the country has already used up the funds from the global lender.
Published : 11 Oct 2018, 06:25 PM
Updated : 11 Oct 2018, 08:38 PM
He expressed his hope after a meeting with World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region Hartwig Schafer on Thursday in Bali, Indonesia.
The finance ministers, central bank chiefs and private sector representatives from 189 countries have gathered for the annual IMF-World Bank meetings there.
The World Bank had pledged $4.5 billion loans for three years from 2017-18 fiscal year, according to Muhith.
“We’ve spent the money for three years in two years and now we have sought $4.5 billion more from them for the rest of the period. They have agreed to extend additional support,” Muhith said.
“I hope we will get $2 billion, if not $4.5 billion,” he said, adding that the money may come from unused funds for African countries.
The finance minister said he also met International Finance Corporation Vice-President for the Asia and Pacific Region Nena Stoiljkovic.
The IFC official assured him of extending credit support from around $600 million to $1 billion annually to Bangladesh.
Muhith reached Bali on Wednesday to attend the IMF-World Bank meetings scheduled to start on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned countries against engaging in both trade and currency wars, saying these would hurt global growth and imperil "innocent bystanders" amid slapping of tit-for-tat tariffs by the US and China on each other.
When Muhith’s attention was drawn to the issue, he told bdnews24.com: “The quarrel is escalating day the day. They are raising tariffs on each other defying WTO rules.”
“It’s natural that all the countries face problems when a quarrel starts between the two big economies. We want a quick settlement of the issue,” he added.
The finance minister said IMF Executive Director Subir Vithal Gokarn expressed concerns over bad loans in Bangladesh’s banking sector.
Muhith said he would make a report before this government ends its term so that the next one can take effective steps to address the issue.
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