Bangladesh's debt servicing crossed US$2.01 billion in the last fiscal year as payment for some previously borrowed big loans began, officials say, amid reported strains on the country's foreign-exchange reserves.
Out of the debt-servicing amount, $1.42 billion is paid as the principal and $468.36 million as interest for medium-to-long-term (MLT) outstanding loans during the period from July 2021 to June 2022, Economic Relations Division (ERD) data show.
This is for the first time that the debt serving leapt over the two-billion mark, and economists say the amount would climb up when repayment of foreign loans against some megaprojects would start in two years or so.
In the previous FY2021, Bangladesh repaid $1.91 billion worth of funds against outstanding loans, $1.73 billion in FE2020, $1.59 billion in FY2019 and $1.41 billion in FY2028, as per the official count.
"The debt servicing will be rising in the coming years as the grace period for many big loans will be finished. So, the loan repayment will be rising," also says a senior ERD official.
Meanwhile, the country's foreign-aid inflow hit a record US$10 billion in the last fiscal year (FY), 2021-22, some 25-percent higher than previous fiscal's.
The foreign development partners disbursed $7.97 billion worth of MLT loans and grants during the previous FY2021, they said Wednesday.
The ERD officials said an impressive amount of external assistance released by three major development partners-the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan and the World Bank (WB)-boosted the amount of foreign aid.
According to the ERD statistics, the foreign lenders disbursed $9.81 billion in loans and $197.62 million in grants during the just-concluded FY2022.
Out of the $10 billion total assistance during the last July-June period, the ADB alone released some $2.2 billion, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) $1.8 billion and the WB $1.6 billion.
Besides, Russia disbursed nearly $1.2 billion and China $800 million worth of aid during the past fiscal.
Meanwhile, the development partners released a total of $7.38 billion worth foreign aid in the FY2020 and $6.54 billion in FY2019.
They in the last FY2022 also made a significant amount of MLT loans and grants commitment through signing deals for $8.20 billion.In the previous FY2021, Bangladesh had received commitments for $9.44 billion worth of MLT loans and grants. A senior ERD official said the government received some $1.13 billion as budgetary support during last fiscal which also contributed to the record-high foreign-aid inflow. Out of the $8.20 billion worth of aid commitments in the last fiscal, the development partners confirmed $7.83 billion in concessional loans and $377.89 million in grants.
The disclosure on dollar-denominated aid comes on the day when government high-ups dispelled 'scaremongering' over foreign-exchange reserves-some of the analysts drawing into reference the Sri Lanka situation.
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