Disbursement of loans and grants to Bangladesh by international lenders and development partners increased by 41 per cent to $1.41 billion in the first seven months of the 2012-13 financial year compared with that of the same period in the previous FY.
According to the data released by Economic Relations Division on Sunday, lenders disbursed $1.14 billion in loans and $0.32 billion in grants in July-January of FY 2012-13. The disbursement in July-January this fiscal year, however, was lower than the amount of loans and grants the lenders had committed for the period.
According to the ERD data, Asian Development Bank provided the highest amount in this period by disbursing $380 million in loans and grants while World Bank became second with $342 million in loans followed by Japan International Cooperation Agency, which disbursed $221 million.
Net inflow of foreign loans and grants also increased significantly, recording $992.20 million in the first seven months of the 2012-13 FY.
In the period, the government repaid $468.70 million as principals of the previous years’ loans and interests on them.
ERD officials said the government had received commitments of getting $2.23 billion in the first seven months of the current financial year, which is $1.71 billion lower than that of the same period in the last FY.
They said efficient implementation of the projects was the main reason for increased amount of foreign loans and grants.
Source :: The New Age
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