Bangladesh to receive $1.3 billion from IMF as reform deal reached | World News

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to release $1.3 billion to Bangladesh in June, after completing a fourth review of its $4.7-billion loan programme and a key breakthrough in talks on exchange rate reforms, the finance minry said.
The funds, covering both the fourth and fifth tranches, had been held up as the IMF pressed for greater exchange rate flexibility, particularly the adoption of a crawling peg mechanism.
The fourth review in Dhaka in April was followed further discussions during the Bank-Fund Spring Meetings in Washington DC that month, focused on critical reforms in revenue management, fiscal policy, and the foreign exchange regime.
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“After carefully reviewing all the issues … both parties have agreed on the revenue management, currency exchange rate and other reform frameworks,” the finance minry said in a statement on Wednesday.
With completion of a staff-level agreement on the fourth review, the IMF is expected to release $1.3 billion set for the fourth and fifth installments together June, it added.
The government has also dissolved the National Board of Revenue (NBR), replacing it with two divisions under the finance minry, to meet a key IMF condition.
One division will handle tax policy with the other managing tax collection and adminration, aiming to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability, the government said.Story continues below this ad
In addition to the IMF funds, the government expects budget support of $2 billion from development partners, the finance minry added.
These bodies include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Japan, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, it added.
Bangladesh turned to the IMF in 2023 for the $4.7-billion bailout as its foreign reserves were pressured a global surge in commodity prices triggered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, straining its ability to pay for key imports of fuel and gas.
The South Asian nation previously received $2.3 billion across the first three tranches.Story continues below this ad
An interim government led Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus took office in August after the ouster of former prime miner Sheikh Hasina following deadly protests.