The private sector in Bangladesh encountered difficulties in the first 10 months of 2023 when it had to repay $26.41 billion in short-term foreign debt against loans totaling $21.61 billion. The country grappled with a $4.8 billion gap between receipts and repayments amid a greenback crisis, depleting foreign currency reserves to $19.4 billion by November 29.
In contrast to 2022, where more loans came in than repayments, the trend reversed this year, impacting the balance of payments. The private sector, wary of volatile USD markets, prioritized repaying existing loans over acquiring new ones. The shift is attributed to increased interest rates, with current rates exceeding 5%, compared to less than 1% previously. Interest payments on foreign debt rose significantly, reaching $525 million in the first ten months of 2023, marking a $279 million increase from the entire year of 2022.