IMF Adviser for the Asia-Pacific Tomas R Rumbaugh is leading the delegation on their nine-day visit to Bangladesh.

The IMF mission will review the progress of the revenue sector reform programmes including strengthening the NBR with adequate and skilled manpower and modern technology, IMF officials here said.

Emphasising the importance of modernising the NBR, an IMF official noted a strategic plan is supposed to be developed in the NBR during 2005 with the World Bank assistance and the visiting IMF mission is likely to review the progress.

The IMF will give priority to further tax administration reform to increase revenue, divesting Nationalised Commercial Banks (NCBs) to improve efficiency and contain quasi-fiscal losses.

It will also focus on liberalising the investment regime, including trade reforms and remoulding the energy sector to secure adequate supply of power while ensuring fiscal sustainability.

Decision on smooth disbursement of the fourth instalment under Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) will largely depend on the success of the revenue sector reforms and privatisation of the state-run Rupali Bank, which currently lies under court's jurisdiction.

The PRGF is the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries. PRGF-supported programmes are based on country-owned poverty reduction strategies.

PRGF loans carry an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent, and are repayable over 10 years with a 5.5 year grace period on principal payments.

Earlier, the IMF's Executive Board approved Bangladesh's three-year PRGF arrangement on June 20, 2003 for an amount equivalent to around US$ 507.7 million. The Board also approved on July 28, 2004 Bangladesh's request for activation of the newly created TIM with an augmentation of the PRGF amounting to around US$ 78.0 million. As a result, the total amount under the PRGF arrangement increased to around US$ 585.7 million.

So far, Bangladesh has drawn around US$ 217.3 million under the arrangement.