External loan repayments reach $3.2b 25pc up YoY

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh repaid a total of $3.212 billion in principal and interest to development partners during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year (FY2024-25), marking a 24.9 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.

According to the latest report released by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) on Wednesday, repayments during the corresponding period of FY2023-24 stood at $2.571 billion. Total repayments for the entire previous fiscal year amounted to $3.37 billion.

Breaking down the current figures, principal repayments saw a significant rise of 32.6 percent, reaching $2.011 billion in the July-March period, compared to $1.516 billion in the same period last year.

Interest payments also increased, albeit at a slower pace. As of March, interest payments stood at $1.2 billion, up 13.8 percent from $1.05 billion during the corresponding months of FY2023-24.

The rise in debt servicing reflects the growing maturity of Bangladesh’s foreign loans and the consequent increase in repayment obligations to bilateral and multilateral development partners.