An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at the end of this month to assess Bangladesh’s progress under its ongoing loan programme before approving the release of the sixth tranche. The mission, led by Chris Papageorgiou, head of the IMF’s Development Macroeconomics Division, will begin its visit on October 29 after the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington from October 13 to 17. The delegation will stay in Bangladesh for two weeks.
During the visit, IMF officials will review the country’s compliance with reform commitments tied to previous disbursements. Meetings will be held with the Bangladesh Bank, the Finance Division, the Financial Institutions Division, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Power Division, and the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
In January 2023, the IMF approved a $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh, following the government’s request for assistance. Since then, Bangladesh has received $3.64 billion across five tranches — $476 million in February 2023, $681 million in December 2023, $1.15 billion in June 2024, and a combined $1.33 billion for the fourth and fifth installments in June 2025.
The IMF recently extended the programme’s duration by six months, adding an extra $800 million and increasing the total package to $5.5 billion from the original $4.7 billion. As a result, three installments worth $1.86 billion remain. The programme is now set to conclude in January 2027, with the number of tranches expanded from seven to eight.
According to officials familiar with the matter, the upcoming IMF mission will place particular emphasis on the country’s progress in meeting Quantitative Performance Criteria (QPC), the Fund’s mandatory performance benchmarks. These include limits on foreign borrowing, clearing arrears for fuel and fertilizer imports, maintaining an adequate level of foreign exchange reserves, and achieving NBR’s revenue collection targets.
As of June, Bangladesh’s net international reserves were required to stand at $17.4 billion, compared to an actual reserve level of $20.73 billion. The government also met targets related to external arrear payments. However, revenue collection continues to lag behind expectations. The NBR collected Tk 3.78 trillion against a target of Tk 4.43 trillion for the fiscal year ending in June.
Former World Bank lead economist in Dhaka, Zahid Hussain, told Prothom Alo that the NBR has missed its collection target three times before. “If the target is not met again, Bangladesh will have to seek a waiver,” he said. “But whether such a waiver will be granted is uncertain.” He added that changes in foreign exchange rate policy and loan rescheduling guidelines could also draw IMF scrutiny.
According to sources in the Finance Division and Bangladesh Bank, the sixth and seventh tranches were initially expected to amount to $530 million each, with the sixth tranche scheduled for December 2025. However, due to the Christmas holiday period in Washington, the IMF’s Executive Board is unlikely to meet in December, potentially pushing the approval to January 2026. The disbursement amounts have also been revised — Bangladesh will now receive $430 million each for the sixth and seventh tranches, while the final installment in January 2027 will be $1 billion.
When contacted, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur said discussions with the IMF mission later this month will focus on implementation progress. “Except for the revenue target, we don’t foresee major difficulties in meeting other conditions,” he said.
Asked whether Bangladesh could still receive the next tranche if revenue targets remain unmet, the governor replied, “The tranche itself is not the most important issue. What matters is ensuring reforms in the banking and revenue sectors are effectively implemented.”
