Dhaka’s debt time bomb ticks louder

Rising debt, shrinking budgets and deepening Chinese influence leave Bangladesh facing a familiar South Asian dilemma, as officials warn the country is slipping into a dangerous debt trap. Bangladesh is confronting an uncomfortable economic reckoning as rising debt repayments, much of them linked to Chinese loans, squeeze public finances and limit policy choices. Senior officials now openly acknowledge that the country has slipped into what they describe as a debt trap — a warning that echoes experiences elsewhere in South Asia. The admission came recently from M Abdur Rahman Khan, Chairman of Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue, who told a…

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