Another IMF instalment by early September: Muhith

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith today said another instalment of IMF's US$ 1 billion loan would be released on early September.
"I believe another instalment of IMF's loan will be released by the end of this month or early September, as all the conditions will be fulfilled," he added.
The minister came up with the announcement after a meeting with the visiting IMF Executive Director Dr Rakesh Mohan at his secretariat office, a news agency report said.
The conditions are amendment to VAT act and international audit to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
The finance minister said the two conditions are almost on the verge of fulfilment, as there is no legal bar on international auditing to BPC.
Early this month, the IMF extended the tenure of the ECF (Extended Credit Facility) programme by three months to give the government sufficient time to meet the unrealized conditions for release of the last two instalments amounting $280 million.
The multilateral lender deferred the sixth tranche of the seven-part installments for the $1bn loan in November last year after the government failed to meet two pertinent conditions.
Replying to a query, Muhith said they are discussing with IMF to launch new programmes, but he was reluctant to make it public before the next World Bank-IMF yearly board meeting on October 9-11 in Lima.
-SS