We don't need IMF bailout package: Dhaka
Friday, 13 February 2009, 18:12 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Dhaka: Bangladesh has said no to International Monetary Fund's (IMF) offer of assistance to help offset the negative impact of the global financial crisis, saying its economic situation was "still strong". "IMF has proposed to give assistance if there is any pressure on balance of payment. However, we have said our overall economic situation is still strong. So we don't need assistance at the moment," Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed said after meeting IMF Director of the Asia and Pacific region Anoop Singh. The central bank governor added that the IMF proposal might be considered if any negative impact is found after receiving the statistics of January and February. "Bangladesh does not need any overall bailout package like the US. However, assistance may be needed in some sectors," Ahmed was quoted as saying by The Daily Star Friday. A three-member IMF team led by Singh met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith, Planning Minister A.K. Khandker and Adviser for Finance and Planning Mashiur Rahman here Thursday. "Bangladesh's economy has been able to resist thus far some of the effects of the global financial crisis. The domestic economy has retained momentum from a favourable agricultural performance and Bangladesh has benefited from the fall in food, fuel and other commodity prices," Singh said. "However, pressures from the global slowdown are building and growth could begin to moderate. In particular, demand has weakened sharply in Bangladesh's major export markets in the European Union and North America, and although remittances remain robust there has recently been a decline in the number of workers leaving Bangladesh for employment abroad," the IMF official observed. The Hasina government earlier this week appointed a committee to explore new markets for manpower export, one of the major foreign exchange earners.
Source: IANS
siliconindia