IMF hints at approving 2 tranches from $4.7 billion loan

International Monetary Fund (IMF) has hinted to approve the fourth and the fifth tranches of a $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington this April.

But the global lender will continue discussions with Bangladesh to reach a staff-level agreement in this regard soon, IMF said in a statement on Thursday.

"Discussions are continuing with the objective of reaching a staff-level agreement in the near term. We reaffirm our commitment to support Bangladesh and its people at this challenging period," adddd IMF.

An IMF mission led by Chris Papageorgiou visited Dhaka from April 6 to 17 to review the country's economic and financial policies.

The statement came at the end of a two-week visit of the IMF team in Dhaka on April 17, which started on April 6, 2025.

During this visit, the IMF team members met with the Finance Division, Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Power Division, Power Development Board, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), and the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. After the meeting, the IMF team shared this opinion in a statement on Thursday (April 17).

Bangladesh has received three tranches of money since the loan programme with the IMF began on January 30, 2023. The country received $476.3 million of the first tranche on February 2, 2023, $681 million of the second tranche in December 2023, and $1.15 billion of the third tranche in June 2024.

Bangladesh has received about $2.31 billion in the three tranches in total, but the fourth and fifth tranches are still pending, which is $2.39 billion.

The mission observed that the economy remains under pressure amid global uncertainty, with GDP growth falling to 3.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of FY25, down from 5.1 percent in the same period a year earlier.

This slowdown, it said, was due to the recent popular uprising, tighter policies, and weakened investor confidence.

Inflation, which had surged to a decade-high of 11.7 percent in July 2024, eased to 9.4 percent in March 2025 but remains well above the Bangladesh Bank's target of 5–6 percent.

The IMF recommended fiscal consolidation, a more flexible exchange rate, improved tax compliance, and institutional reforms to stabilise the economy.

It also called for greater governance and transparency, enhanced climate resilience, and structural reforms to attract investment and diversify exports.