Rejaul Karim Byron

Distressed assets in the banking sector have reached a whooping Tk 6,75,030 crore, an amount bigger than the cost of building 22 bridges across the Padma or 13.5 metro rail systems in Dhaka, according to a White Paper released yesterday.

Bangladesh is on track to meet all 12 conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to qualify for the fourth tranche of a $4.7 billion loan programme, only missing the revenue collection target.

Bangladesh has lost around $14 billion a year on average to capital flight during the Awami League’s 15-year tenure, according to the draft report of the committee preparing a white paper on the economy.

The interim government is struggling to pay the power bill arrears that were caused largely by “unfair” contracts signed between the previous administration and power producers, and rising international fuel prices.

Bangladesh to utilise the fund to speed up reforms, stabilise reserves

The interim government is going to curtail its expenditure focusing on the budget for 2024-25 in order to keep fiscal pressure within its control, contain inflation and prevent foreign currency reserves from falling further.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) should take measures to prevent “second-round effects” of inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

The World Bank has committed to giving Bangladesh $400 million for implementing the next five-year plan for the health sector, which is estimated to cost around $9 billion.

The decision on whether to formulate another minimum wage for garment workers after making adjustments in line with inflation will be made by April next year.

Three advisers to the interim government of Bangladesh will meet today to discuss solutions for taming inflation, which remains high even though several initiatives have been implemented to this end.

The interim government is going to formulate a specific roadmap to recover funds of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust (BCCT), amounting to Tk 873.82 crore, that have been held up in Padma Bank since 2016.

Bangladesh has drafted the Cross-Border Digital Commerce Policy 2024, marking a significant step towards integrating the economy with the global digital marketplace as it looks to facilitate globally accepted payment methods.

The government is set to import a substantial quantity of rice and withdraw import duties to boost stock.

The interim government plans to strengthen the universal pension scheme (UPS) with the aim of bringing people from all walks of life under a sustainable social security framework.

Bangladesh recorded its lowest economic growth in the past five quarters in the last quarter of fiscal 2023-24 due to contractionary monetary and fiscal policies to tackle the dwindling forex reserves and high inflation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is sending a team within the first week of December to review whether Bangladesh qualifies for the fourth tranche of a $4.7 billion loan programme.

A year on, Karnaphuli tunnel losing over Tk 27 lakh a day

After the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund has now brought down Bangladesh’s growth forecast for this year as political uncertainty, industrial unrest and floods weigh heavily on economic activities.

Bangladesh’s foreign debt servicing surged 29 percent year-on-year in the first three months of fiscal 2024-25 owing to the country’s expanded foreign loan portfolio and the rise in global interest rates.

The government is expecting at least $5.65 billion in budget support this fiscal year from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expedite reforms.