BIG relief for Anti-India Bangladesh leader Yunus as cash-strapped Bangladesh gets IMF loan worth Rs…

In a major development, Bangladesh has secured an IMF loan, providing much-needed financial relief to the cash-strapped nation. Bangladesh on Wednesday agreed to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) condition of adopting a market-determined exchange rate to unlock stalled loan disbursements. According to a PTI report, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur on Wednesday announced the adoption of a managed floating exchange rate with immediate effect to comply with IMF conditions, paving the way for the release of the stalled loan.

“Bangladesh will receive a total USD 3.5 billion by June from different multi-donor agencies, including the WB (World Bank), ADB (Asian Development Bank) and IMF,” Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur  was quoted as saying by news agency PTI in a virtual press conference from Dubai. The report further mentioned that the central bank governor expected the “managed exchange rate” to be around the existing rate due to available dollar liquidity.

Central bank officials said the IMF has agreed to release the stalled fourth and fifth tranches of the loan by June, following the resolution of a prolonged disagreement over exchange rate flexibility. They noted that the announcement signaled the shift to a “market-based” exchange rate regime, marking the end of the partially flexible system that had been in place until now.

Under the new system, the exchange rate will operate within a specified band. However, the Bangladesh Bank did not provide further details about the mechanism. It did confirm the creation of a USD 500 million stabilisation fund, intended to help maintain stability in the exchange rate.

The IMF agreed to release USD 1.3 billion of the USD 4.7 billion loan package in June, which was so far withheld due to disagreement over the implementation of greater exchange rate flexibility through a crawling peg.

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