IMF seeks development partner loan database from ERD

The visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has sought the loan database of development part-ners from the Economic Relations Division (ERD).

Besides, it wanted to know the method used to prepare the database.

ERD Secretary Sharifa Khan told reporters after a meeting with the IMF delegation on Thursday, “The IMF asked us about the loan database of development partners. We discussed that.”

In response to the question whether there was any discussion about the IMF loan repayment, she said, “Our repayment plan is clear. There was no discussion about that.”

“They also asked us which method we used to make the database. We said Bangladesh follows the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) system,” she added.

A senior official of the ERD said on condition of anonymity that the delegation also wanted to know whether an adjustment account has been opened with Russia to repay the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant loan.

“We told them it has been opened. Then they wanted to know about Bangladesh’s revised development budget,” he said.

“We did not discuss a lot of matters with the delegation. The IMF will come to Bangladesh again in Octo-ber and will make a policy decision. Nothing can be said before that,” he added.

Bangladesh has to fulfil 38 conditions, big and small, to get the IMF loan. Most of the conditions are relat-ed to the financial sector.

The financial sector comprises a large part of the banking sector, of which a significant part is under the responsibility of the central bank.

The IMF team is checking the progress made till March in fulfilling the loan conditions and also the steps that will be taken in this regard between June and September.

Apart from this, the initiatives taken in the upcoming budget to fulfil the conditions that the government has promised to do by June 2024 will also be reviewed.

The IMF approved a $4.7 billion loan proposal for Bangladesh on January 30. Out of this, $3.3 billion under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) has been approved while the remain-ing $1.4 billion will come from the newly formed Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The IMF will give the loan in seven instalments over three and a half years till 2026.