Forex reserve inches up $30b mark after receiving World Bank support
Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserve has increased to $30.36 billion which was $29.78 billion just a day ago.
"Currently the country's reserves amount to $30.36 billion. Which was $29.78 billion a day ago. Bangladesh received $507 million as budget support from the World Bank," said Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque on Wednesday (10 May).
"We have already received loan assistance from the World Bank. We have yet to receive the loans we've sought from other organisations. Hopefully, we will, very soon," the central bank official added.
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If the Bangladesh Bank receives loans from the expected organisations, the country's reserves will be $32 billion at the end of June, he further said.
The IMF last March set a floor of $22.947 billion in net reserves, which Bangladesh could not meet. The global lender increased the floor to $24.462 billion for June. It as set $25.316 billion as floor target for September and $26.411 billion for December.
However, the central bank is looking to foreign sources to increase the net reserves by June as per the conditions of the IMF.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque said during a briefing on 7 May, "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is on a foreign tour. Several agreements have been signed with different countries. According to which, net reserves can be maintained at the end of June as per the terms of the IMF."
The government has asked for $400 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, $320 million from JICA and $100 million from South Korea, which the Economic Relations Division is trying to get by next June. If these loans are received, an additional $1 billion will be added to reserves by June.
The country's foreign exchange reserves came down to the $29 billion mark earlier this month as the Bangladesh Bank cleared import bills of $1.18 billion to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).
In a SWIFT message on 3 May, the central bank gave its approval to the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States to process the ACU payment.
The ACU payment gateway covers monetary transactions by its nine member countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – for regional imports. The bills are cleared every two months.
Earlier in March, the Bangladesh Bank cleared $1.05 billion in import bills to the Union, which brought down the reserves to $31.15 billion.
