Bangladesh signed an $855 million loan agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) yesterday to finance imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
A deal was signed among ITFC (a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group), the Energy and Mineral Resources Division and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka.
Bangladesh urged ITFC to disburse the money during April-May, a period of irrigation, when the nation burns fuel worth $500 million, Mesbahuddin Ahmed, energy secretary, told reporters.
ITFC will provide a total of $2 billion loans to Bangladesh in 2012, said Abubakar Siddique, chairman of BPC.
The agreement brought together 28 financial institutions in the largest syndication by ITFC for a single client, the lender said in a statement.
Bangladesh needs $6 billion a year to import crude and refined petroleum products while ITFC is providing a third of its requirement, he said.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the prime minister's energy adviser, said a frequent fuel price hike has become a burden on the countries such as
Bangladesh.