Bangladesh to get $4.7bn IMF package

The funding comes under a new programme which aims to help vulnerable middle-income countries and island states.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board has approved a support programme for Bangladesh worth $4.7bn at current exchange rates, making the South Asian country the first to access its new Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The funding announced on Monday includes $3.3bn under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility programmes and $1.4bn under the new RSF, which aims to help vulnerable middle-income countries and island states.

The board approval of a staff agreement reached last November allows the immediate disbursement of about $476m to Bangladesh, the IMF said.

The IMF said the 42-month borrowing package “will help preserve macroeconomic stability, protect the vulnerable and foster inclusive and green growth”.

The fund said it includes reforms focused on creating fiscal space to enable greater social and developmental spending, strengthening Bangladesh’s financial sector, boosting fiscal and governance reforms, and building climate resilience.

The IMF announced the new RSF facility in October last year to provide policy support and affordable longer-term financing for low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries in addition to the existing lending toolkits that these countries had access to. RSF facilities come with a 20-year maturity and a 10-1/2-year grace period during which no principal is repaid.

The funding from the RSF will help support the country’s climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, the IMF said.