Foreign loan use rises 57% in July-March

Bangladesh's use of foreign loans rose 57 per cent year-on-year to $6.8 billion in first nine months till March in the current fiscal year.

Different ministries used $4.38 billion in the same period last fiscal year.

The government still does not have that expertise to implement projects in time and properly utilise foreign funds, an official of the finance ministry said.

But the amount of foreign loan use and commitment experienced a rise thanks to the increased flow of budgetary support to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the official added.

In the meantime, the clearance of principal and interest also surged.

In the first nine months to March this fiscal year, the government paid $1.6 billion. Of which, $1.18 billion was principal amount.

The government cleared $1.45 billion in the same period last fiscal year.