4th tranche of IMF loan further delayed: Financial advisor

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has further postponed the release of $645 million in the fourth tranche of its ongoing loan program.

The proposal to release the fourth and fifth tranches will be presented simultaneously at the organization's executive board meeting next June, said Finance Advisor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed.

He made these remarks to reporters after the session on the Finance Ministry on the second day of the Deputy Commissioners (DC) Conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Monday (February 17).

The advisor said, we have said that we have some work to do. We are not in such a hurry. Let me tell you one thing, you are thinking that we will beg for it, but in fact we will comply with many conditions and on our own initiative. It is not that we will comply with some conditions. Now our macro-economy is good. Current account, financial account and expatriate income are good. We are not becoming desperate.

Asked whether the proposal will be presented to the IMF board next March, he said, "No, we are saying we will wait a little, the proposal for the fourth and fifth tranches will be presented together next June."

The financial advisor said that the proposal for the fourth installment was first supposed to be presented at the executive board meeting of the organization on February 5. Although the money was supposed to be released that month, it was postponed to March 12. Now it will be taken up at the board meeting to be held in June. If the board approves, the two installments can be released together a few days later.

Asked what he had learned from his recent meeting with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), he said, "IFAD is making a big contribution to the development of Bangladesh's agricultural sector. The development we see in our agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors is because of them. Otherwise, we would not have been able to feed 170 million people. We have asked them to provide more funding to these sectors."

The government signed a $4.7 billion loan agreement with the IMF in 2022. The loan is to be disbursed in seven installments.

The IMF disbursed the inaugural installment or first installment in January 2023. Later, two more installments were disbursed.

The last installment was disbursed in June last year. The IMF did not disburse any installment during the interim government.