IMF Article-IV mission due next month

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The Article - IV mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Dhaka on December 6 to discuss economic and development policies of the incumbent government for the current and next fiscal years, a top official has said.
David Cowen, Deputy Division Chief, Asia Pacific Department, IMF, will lead the mission members, who will remain busy in Bangladesh until December 15, according to the programme schedule of the forthcoming mission.
Domestic and foreign financing of the budget, projected losses incurred by state-owned enterprises (SoEs) and implications of the public service wage bill in the current 2010-2011 fiscal year have been ear marked as some of the major economic issues to come up at the discussions between policy makers and IMF officials during the latter's stay in Dhaka, a source said.
Besides, projected fiscal outlay and planned development policies of the government to be undertaken for the next fiscal year will also be placed at the talks, it has been learned.
The IMF has also some queries about revenue earnings, monetary and financial issues and the external sector.
"The entire gamut of fiscal and economic policies for the current and next fiscal years will figure at the discussion with the IMF's Article-IV mission," a top official at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said.
"We are now busy preparing the data and information to feed the forthcoming mission of IMF and updating ourselves on various macro-economic issues that may come up during the visit of the Article-4 mission," he added.
The MoF has recently held a meeting of the Resource Committee, assigned for revising and projecting current and next budgetary allocations, to finanlise the policies and budgetary allocations for both 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 fiscal years, sources said.
The meeting will be convened again soon after getting the latest data on the country's export, import, implementation rate of Annual Development Programme(ADP) and non-ADP capital spending, officials at the MoF has said.
Under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with member-countries, usually every year. A staff team visits the country concerned, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with the relevant officials the country's economic developments and policies.
On return to IMF headquarters, it prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the executive board. At the conclusion of the discussion, the IMF Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarises the views of the Executives Directors, and the summary is passed on to the authorities of the country concerned.
The IMF mission members are expected to hold discussions with Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman, National Board of Revenue Chairman Nasir Uddin, among others.