IMF loan cannot be the only factor behind much-needed structural changes

The prospective loan programme of the International Monetary Fund will prime Bangladesh for graduation from the least-developed country bracket and reach middle-income country status by 2031, said the lender’s top official.

Bangladesh’s $4.5 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund is expected to get the final approval on January 30, said the lender’s visiting top official yesterday.

There would not be any further negotiations on the $4.5 billion loan programme during International Monetary Fund’s deputy managing director Antoinette Monsio Sayeh’s forthcoming visit to Bangladesh.

International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Monsio Sayeh is due in Dhaka on January 14 for a five-day visit, to finalise the agreement for a $4.5 billion loan.

The core problems of our economy are rooted in the very nature of the country’s governance, which has long been neglected. 

The rise in the prices of goods has led to many people suffering from a silent famine.

This year was always supposed to be a celebration of Bangladesh’s economic progress with the opening of Padma bridge and Dhaka metro rail and 100 percent electrification.

Bangladesh economy was all set at the beginning of 2022 to get its growth momentum back after recovering from the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. But, the start of the Ukraine war in February slowed the country’s joy run significantly, making it an eventful year to remember. Let’s see how 2022 was for Bangladesh.

The International Monetary Fund is set to tag three binding conditions and a host of structural reforms for the prospective $4.5 billion loan to Bangladesh, as the Washington-based multilateral lender looks to bring in lasting reforms in the country.

Time has come to make good on those plans.

Good morning. If you’re traveling on buses from Mirpur, you might be relieved to know that the much-awaited e-ticketing service was launched earlier this week. Here are five other stories to start your day up-to-date.

Martin Raiser, the World Bank’s vice president for the South Asia Region, arrives in Dhaka tomorrow to discuss further reforms with the government for the support package sought to help Bangladesh tide over the period of global economic turmoil.

This fiscal year alone, the Bangladesh Bank has supplied more than $4.5 billion to the market to support the exchange rate, while the import bill averages $6 billion a month.

The government yesterday reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.5 billion loan programme, putting to bed all suspense on whether a deal would be struck with the multilateral lender at all.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the government to rationalise the existing tariff structure by reducing various types of para and non-tariff barriers to improve competitiveness of domestic industries. 

All our institutions are crumbling because of politicisation, inefficiencies, and corruption.

The International Monitory Fund has outlined wider reform measures, including bringing discipline to the financial sector and boosting revenue collection, for Bangladesh to avail the $4.5 billion loan.

The economy needs firm handling to ensure the situation doesn't turn into a crisis.

If things are bad, there must be a good reason for it.