Bangladesh expects $1.1bln in loans from the IMF, ADB by December

Bangladesh expects to receive $1.1 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by next month, a central bank spokesperson said on Friday, as it tries to cope with a fall in reserves.

“We are hoping to get the amount from the IMF and ADB by December,” central bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque said. The IMF and the ADB did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Bangladesh has been battling stubbornly high inflation spurred by a spike in energy and food prices, along with a weakening currency, which has caused a headache for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ahead of a general election on Jan. 7.

The country expects $681 million from the IMF as part of a $4.7 billion bailout agreed in January and another $400 million from the ADB, said Haque.

Bangladesh and the IMF in October reached a staff-level agreement to release more funds for the country of 170 million people.

Its gross foreign exchange reserves have fallen more than a quarter in the past year to hit $25.16 billion in November, according to central bank data.

Bloomberg first reported the possible release of additional funds citing a central bank spokesperson.

Street protests by opposition parties have drawn tens of thousands of people, including workers from the country’s massive garments industry, angry over the high cost of living.

Bangladesh’s $416-billion economy was one of the world’s fastest growing for years, but the country has recently struggled to pay for costly imported fuel. (Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Mumbai and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; editing by David Evans)