Despite the declining reserve, the central bank has kept selling dollars to other banks to address the foreign currency (Forex) issue.
Bangladesh Bank sold $130 million to other banks on October 13.
The central bank's total dollar sales for the first three and a half months of the current fiscal year came to $4.08 billion when this amount was added to the prior $3.95 billion.
The amount of dollars sold by Bangladesh Bank to the banks from the start of the current fiscal year till last Wednesday (October 12), according to data analysis by Bangladesh Bank, was $3.95 billion.
After $130 million on Thursday, it has become $4.08 billion.
In contrast to the sale of $7.62 billion in FY22, about Tk70,000 crore entered the central bank from the market.
In just the first three and half months of FY23, this amount now hit Tk390 billion.
Till October 13, Bangladesh Bank reserve stood at $36.33 billion.
Actual Reserve
Even though the IMF has objected to the reserve account of Bangladesh for a long time, Bangladesh Bank is still publishing the reserve account with liabilities.
However, the central bank, apart from investing the reserve money in various bonds, currency and gold abroad, has also formed various funds in the country with the reserve money.
The export development fund (EDF) has been formed with $7 billion from the reserve.
Long Term Fund (LTF), and Green Transformation Fund (GTF) have been formed with the reserve money also.
Money was given to Sonali Bank for Bangladesh Biman to buy aircraft. Again, money has been given from the reserve for the excavation program of the Rabnabad channel at Payra port.
A total of $8 billion have been used in such programs.
Out of this, $200 million has been given to Sri Lanka, against which an equivalent amount of Sri Lankan rupees has been deposited.
If this $8.2 billion is excluded from the calculation, the actual reserve amount of the forex reserve in the Bangladesh Bank vault is only $28.13 billion.
Sri Lankan Loan
Sri Lanka took a loan of $200 million from Bangladesh in 2021 on the condition of repayment within three months.
Not being able to repay this loan on time, Sri Lanka asked for several rounds of time and Bangladesh also gave time.
The last time to pay the dollar is April 2023.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder told reporters after the meeting of the World Bank and IMF Board of Governors in Washington on October 13 that these $200 million will be returned by March next year.
Outside the meeting of the board of governors, he met with the governor of the central bank of Sri Lanka, P Nandalal Weerasinghe, and told reporters that he got such an assurance there.
Abdur Rauf Talukder said: “The country could not return our money on time due to the economic crisis. We extended the loan repayment period twice.”
The governor informed: “Nandalal Weerasinghe has confirmed that they are restructuring the economy and doing so in collaboration with India, Japan and China. They may go to a final agreement with the IMF within the next two months. The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said that they will be able to return our loan within the next period.”
“The country has not talked about it for so long but today their governor has assured me,” the governor added.
