The disbursement of the fourth and fifth tranches under Bangladesh’s ongoing loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now hinges on a single, critical issue: when the country will fully liberalise its foreign exchange regime and allow the market to determine the dollar’s value.
This development came to light following discussions with Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur on Thursday (24 April).
While the governor expressed optimism that the loan instalments would be approved, he acknowledged that key conditions remain under negotiation.
Under the seven-tranche $4.7 billion programme, Bangladesh has already received $2.31 billion in three instalments.
The remaining $2.39 billion is pending.
A 12-member delegation—including Financial Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed and Governor Mansur—is currently in Washington, DC, attending the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings that began on 21 April and will conclude on 26 April.
On the sidelines of the summit, the delegation held a separate meeting with IMF officials on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, the central bank governor said, “We’ve made some progress, and we’re now in the final stages. We’re hopeful of a positive outcome within a day or two. Technical aspects are currently being worked out.”
When asked about the fate of the next two tranches, the governor replied: “It all boils down to one issue—making the exchange rate market-based. The IMF remains firm on this. The question is not whether, but when—before or after the disbursement.”
He also clarified that there were no major disagreements with the IMF.
However, he diverged from the IMF's recent projection of 3.3% GDP growth for Bangladesh, expressing hope that the actual figure would be somewhat higher.
An IMF mission visited Dhaka earlier this month to review the third and fourth tranches of the loan package.
Before departing, the mission stated on 17 April that discussions would continue, and if conditions are met, disbursement could occur by the end of June. These talks are currently ongoing in Washington.
The loan programme commenced on 30 January 2023, with the first tranche of $476.3 million released on 2 February.
The second tranche of $681 million followed in December 2023, and the third—worth $1.15 billion—was received in June 2024.
