Published : 07 Oct 2026, 02:28 AM
Updated : 07 Oct 2026, 02:28 AM
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury’s claim that Bangladesh “does not want to rely” on financing from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund has created “confusion” over the government’s actual position on a new IMF loan.
Speaking at an event on Sunday, just eight days before the IMF-World Bank Group annual meetings in Bangkok from Oct 12 to 18, Khosru said: “Forget about the IMF giving money, the World Bank giving money. I have cancelled the IMF programme, as you have seen. Their conditions are not acceptable to us.”
His remarks appeared to suggest that not only the previous IMF agreement, signed under the Awami League government, but also negotiations for a new programme had been abandoned.
However, a senior Finance Division official told bdnews24.com: “We are continuing discussions with the IMF on a new loan agreement.”
The official said he believed the minister was referring to Bangladesh’s decision to exit the old programme, whose conditions are no longer being followed.
Another official said Bangladesh had already submitted its reform plans to the IMF ahead of the Bangkok meetings.
A Bangladeshi delegation led by Khosru will attend the meetings and hold discussions with senior IMF officials.
Bangladesh signed a $4.7 billion IMF loan deal in early 2023 after months of talks amid a foreign-exchange crisis. The amount was later raised to $5.5 billion under the interim government.
Bangladesh received $476.3 million as the first instalment in February 2023 and has so far received $3.64 billion in five instalments.
After becoming government in February, the BNP administration resumed talks over the stalled sixth instalment and proposed replacing the existing agreement with a new one.
On Jun 3, the IMF confirmed that Bangladesh had applied for a new programme, but gave no details on the amount.
The negotiations have continued even as Khosru said on Sunday, “We have cancelled the IMF loan agreement and taken the initiative to stand on our own feet. Bangladesh’s economy will reach $1 trillion in 2034 without assistance from donor agencies.”
Reality of Financing Needs
Bangladesh’s economy has remained under pressure since 2022. Foreign-exchange reserves fell sharply, inflation climbed into the 9 percent range after the Russia-Ukraine war drove up energy prices, and political upheaval in August 2024 disrupted business and employment.
The energy crisis has since intensified. The government has allocated Tk 370 billion for electricity subsidies and Tk 60 billion for LNG subsidies this fiscal year.
The Finance Division has released about Tk 238 billion for LNG imports over the past two and a half months.
The government says Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation lost Tk 228.76 billion between March and August, with diesel alone costing about Tk 400 billion in annual subsidies at current international prices.
Against this backdrop, several Finance Division officials say it would be difficult for Bangladesh to do without development-partner financing.
Revenue Remains the ‘Big Issue’
Revenue collection is emerging as a major sticking point in the new IMF negotiations.
Under the previous programme, Bangladesh was supposed to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio by 0.5 percentage points annually for the first two years and 0.7 percentage points in the third.
Instead, the ratio has fallen from 7.4 percent when the agreement was signed to 6.8 percent.
An official said, “Revenue collection is the big issue in negotiations with the IMF.”
The IMF also wants reforms to be quantified -- showing how much additional revenue each policy or structural reform will generate. Officials say the tax collection plan submitted by the National Board of Revenue has not convinced the lender.
What Happens Next?
An IMF mission that visited Dhaka and ended its work on Jul 17 said discussions on the new programme would continue.
The next major round is expected after the Bangkok annual meetings. A Finance Division official said an IMF delegation would visit Dhaka in late October to discuss finalising the conditions of the new programme.
Asked how much Bangladesh could receive, he said: “How much money will be received or in how many instalments will depend entirely on the conditions. We will know then.”
The government is also looking beyond multilateral loans. Khosru has promoted capital and bond markets as cheaper sources of financing, saying,
“Capital market is the answer, bond market is the answer.”
He added, “I am going to the market, I am going to get my money.”
