The adviser did not tell the IMF how much debt would be needed for economic reforms
September 24, 20243 Mins Read

Jumbangla Desk: Bangladesh has sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various international organizations on various issues including banking sector, money laundering, tax and VAT reforms. However, the amount of loan required has not yet been disclosed to the IMF.

Upodastha

This information was given by Finance and Trade Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed.

He said, 'Resources are needed to take various reforms and steps in the economic field. We will source as much domestic resources as we can, but there are certain things that will require foreign assistance. One of these is the IMF, which provides balance sheet support. Foreign aid is very important for the banking sector and other sectors.'

An IMF mission has arrived in the country, the adviser said, 'The organization will know what we need during the visit. We have said that we have taken steps in reforms, we have taken steps in other sectors including the banking sector. It will take some time.'

The advisor said, 'We have a resource gap in this regard. We discussed the amount of money needed. They will discuss more details. I have discussed the policy and main objectives. Will sit with Bangladesh Bank. It will know what will be done about the foreign exchange market and bank reform. Will also sit with the National Board of Revenue (NBR).'

"We have a macro policy team. Discuss their own views in detail and then go to the World Bank meeting in October, where they will discuss with policy makers. Then the present program will be discussed. We have requested some future…. We have not said the exact yet, we have said that we will inform the resource gap formally. We will talk about that,' said Dr. Salehuddin.

When asked what he wanted from them, he said, 'Resources, technical assistance for banking sector reform, for money laundering, then for tax reform, income tax, VAT reform. Not only the IMF, but also others have asked for something. By coordinating who will give what help, we will tell the IMF specifically what help we need from them. Everyone can work together without duplication ie two or three organizations will do the same work but need more resources. It has been discussed.'

Meanwhile, an International Monetary Fund mission is now in Dhaka to look into whether an additional $3 billion or $3 billion loan can be given to Bangladesh. The mission is led by Chris Paparzio, head of the Development Macroeconomics Division of the IMF's research arm.

IMF officials will stay in Bangladesh till September 30. He will meet with various departments including the Finance Department of the Government, Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Ministry of Labor and Employment. And in these meetings, apart from reviewing the IMF's ongoing loan program in Bangladesh, new loan approvals will also be discussed.

According to sources, the main topics of this meeting with the IMF are increasing tax collection, taking less loans and reducing subsidies. However, the organization can also pressure the interim government to increase the prices of gas, electricity, fuel oil and fertilizers.