Bangladesh repays $3.5bn foreign debt in 10 months

Bangladesh has repaid $3.5 billion in foreign debt in the first ten months (July–April) of the current 2024–25 fiscal year—exceeding the total repayment made during the entire previous fiscal year, according to an updated report by the Economic Relations Department (ERD), released on Thursday (May 29).

The ERD data shows that during the July–April period of the last fiscal year, Bangladesh repaid about $2.81 billion in principal and interest. This year, the figure has jumped by 24.73 percent.

By this, principal repayments saw a sharp increase of 32.86 percent.

So far, the government has paid over $2.021 billion in principal, compared to $1.66 billion during the same period last year. Interest payments also rose by 12.95 percent—reaching $1.29 billion, up from $1.148 billion in the previous year.

Economists attribute the rising repayment burden to large loans taken in recent years under strict terms—short repayment schedules, higher interest rates, and the expiry of grace periods. These factors have significantly contributed to the increased debt servicing obligations in the current fiscal year.