Business Report :
The country’s loan implementation coordination committee has already started working on the progress of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s loan conditions so that Bangladesh can obtain the money for its fourth installment without any hurdles.
According to sources, the first meeting was held on Wednesday at the Ministry of Finance to determine the strategies that will be discussed with the IMF delegation.
The IMF delegation will return to Dhaka next on December 3.
The main reason for the delegation’s arrival is to assess Bangladesh’s eligibility to secure the next installment of the $4.70 billion loan.
A source also said that the focus of the IMF delegation this time is the progress of automation aimed at revenue collection.
Besides this, the issue of tax to GDP ratio will also be in discussion.
The IMF representatives will also be briefed on what the National Board of Revenue (NBR) plans to increase tax-GDP ratio.
At the same time, the current revenue situation will discussed. Not only this, it will also inform the global lender about the future roadmap for revenue collection.
Foreign currency reserves will also be another point of discussion, but this time Bangladesh has met IMF conditions regarding reserve adequacy.
Apart from economic issues, other pertinent topics will include political transitions, deteriorating law and order affecting trade, delays in implementing and halting projects initiated by the previous government, and inflation spikes.
Ziaul Abedin, additional secretary of the macroeconomic wing of the Finance Division and chair of the meeting, said: “This meeting is part of our preparation. We think we won’t have any trouble fulfilling the requirements.”
Asked if all conditions to secure the fourth tranche have been met, he replied: “There are no problems from our side. We have complied with every criterion,” he added.
During the IMF’s previous mission to assess for the 3rd loan tranche, NBR was scrutinized for failing to meet a target of increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio by 0.5% in FY24.
While the revenue board met its value added tax targets, it fell short in its target to collect income tax and customs duties.
The IMF approved the $4.7 billion loan in January 2023 to help Bangladesh address a foreign currency crunch.
Bangladesh received the first installment of $476 million in February 2023, followed by $681 million in December later that year.
Then $1.15 billion was sent in its third installment on June 27 earlier this year.
