Bangladesh anticipates receiving roughly 4.5 billion USD in loans from the IMF as a preventative step and to stabilize its foreign exchange reserves.
The country is attempting to obtain an IMF loan while two other South Asian nations, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, are fighting for IMF loans to survive their economies in the wake of a record USD 30.86 billion trade deficit, remittance inflow falling by 15.12%, and a current account deficit of USD 17.23 billion in the recently concluded 2021–22 fiscal.
The economies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka are in jeopardy, thus they are applying for IMF loans. Bangladesh’s economy is not as poor as theirs. Pakistan is in serious financial circumstances, and Sri Lanka is insolvent. Nevertheless, a lot of individuals ponder why Bangladesh must accept an IMF loan.
By March 2022, Bangladesh’s debt to foreign lenders had risen to USD 93.23 billion. As the government obtained foreign financing to carry out certain major projects, external borrowing increased.
Planning Minister MA Mannan responded to a question by saying that Bangladesh has not yet missed any payments on external loans.
“In South-East Asia Bangladesh’s debt-GDP is around 41.4 percent, of which foreign loans are 21 per cent. Indian’s loans are 86.8 percent of their GDP, Pakistan’s loans are 74 percent of their GDP, Sri Lanka’s loans are 107 percent of their GDP and Thailand’s loans are 62 percent of their GDP,” he said.
Bangladesh borrowed money for a number of large-scale projects, including the rail link across the Padma Bridge, while being aware of their potential returns. Mannan cited the Padma Bridge authority’s increased revenue collection as an illustration of returns.
