IMF, ADB loans lift forex to $20.4 billion
Staff Reporter :
After receiving loan funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) country’s foreign exchange reserve increased to $20.4 billion following the BPM-6 manual.
Likewise, the gross foreign currency reserves stand at $25.82 billion which was amounted to $24.66 billion on last December 7.
In a press briefing at the central bank headquarters on Sunday Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque informed the journalists that "Currently the country's reserves amount to $20.4 billion, which was $19.17 billion on Thursday while the gross reserves stood at $25.82 billion."& quot;On Friday, $689 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and $400 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were added to the forex reserves," the central Bank spokesperson added.
Amid higher import bills against moderate remittance and export receipts, August 2021 when reserves stood at an impressive $48 billion, had fallen to $19 billion in November.
The depleted reserves have prompted the government to turn to global lenders to tackle macroeconomic pressures, stop the further fall of the local currency, and rein in consumer prices.
The BB sells about $60 million each working day in recent times, mostly to the state-run banks to help them settle import bills of government agencies such as the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, and the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation.
Therefore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set the net foreign exchange reserve ceiling to $17.78 billion for December, revising it down from the previous target of $26.8 billion.
The first tranche of the loan package was cleared on 30 January. Bangladesh received $447.8 million on 2 February. The entire amount will be released in seven installments till 2026.
The fourth installment of the loan will be available in December 2024, requiring net reserves to be raised to $20.20 billion by next June.
Meanwhile, replying to a question on five 5 Islamic banks’ fund deficit, the spokesperson said the central bank on November 28 sent letters to the managing directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank and Global Islami Bank, instructing them to clear the deficit within 20 working days.
If they can't do so by the deadline, they might be blocked out of all clearing platforms. But some media outlets reported that the decision to block some banks' transactions have already been taken.
