Bangladesh expects $4.7bn IMF loan installments by June

The country anticipates receiving the fourth and fifth installments from the global lending agency

Bangladesh is set to receive the remaining two installments of the $470 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of June.

The IMF team made the announcement after a two-week review mission at Bangladesh Bank’s Headquarters on Thursday.

The fourth and fifth tranches are expected to be disbursed as part of the loan programme, with the country set to receive these funds later this year.

Chris Papageorgiou, chief of the Development Macroeconomics Division in the Research Department of the IMF, said it would discuss these matters further during the spring meetings of the IMF-World Bank, to be held in Washington from Apr 21-26.

Papageorgiou added that Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves were currently higher than expected, and the exchange rate remained stable.

He expressed hope that further flexibility in the exchange rate would improve the economy's stability.

The IMF representative also stressed the need for further attention to tax reform in the country, urging the government to simplify its tax policies and reduce tax exemptions.

He also highlighted the importance of finding sustainable revenue-generating measures.

Moreover, the IMF team recommended that Bangladesh take stronger action to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

They also stressed the need for legal reforms in the banking sector, effective asset quality assessments, and greater independence and good governance at Bangladesh Bank.

The loan programme with the IMF began on Jan 30, 2023, and since then, Bangladesh has received several tranches.

The first installment, amounting to $470.63 million, was released on Feb 2, 2023, while the second tranche of $681.10 million was received in December of the same year.

The third installment, which amounted to $1.15 billion, was disbursed in June 2024, bringing the total amount received to $2.31 billion.

Bangladesh now awaits the release of the remaining $2.39 billion, with hopes that the fourth and fifth installments will be disbursed together by June.