REJAUL KARIM BYRON and ASIFUR RAHMAN

The government has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the fourth and fifth tranches of the $4.7 billion loan programme, resolving months of uncertainty over their disbursement.

Besides, it has sought an additional $762 million to navigate the “significant macroeconomic challenges”, the IMF said in a statement yesterday.

The disbursement of the two tranches, amounting to about $1.3 billion, and the request for a top-up of the loan amount are now awaiting approval by the IMF board.

The board approval is contingent on the completion of prior actions related to tax revenue mobilisation and full implementation of exchange rate reforms, said Chris Papageorgiou, the IMF mission chief for Bangladesh, in the statement.

“The authorities reiterated their commitment to the objectives of the reform programme including fiscal reforms to address the emerging external financing gap, calibrating monetary policy to bring down inflation and fully implementing exchange rate reforms to enhance flexibility,” the statement said.

Key priorities include streamlining tax exemptions, enhancing tax compliance and delineating tax policy from administration, the IMF said, adding that a comprehensive approach is required in parallel to rein in subsidy expenditures in the electricity sector.

SEE PAGE 2 COL 1