The sixth instalment of International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan programme of $4.7 billion may not arrive by the end of the year, as the donor agency wants to work with the new political government for smooth continuation of reform programmes.

"The next instalment might come around March or April -- this will have no negative impact on Bangladesh. In fact, it will be good," Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, who is in Washington, DC to attend the annual meeting of the World Bank-IMF, told The Daily Star over the phone.

The instalment's release will be decided when the IMF mission comes to Dhaka on October 29 for a two-week review of the progress made until June.

The IMF wants to defer the sixth instalment and provide both sixth and seventh instalments amounting to about $800 million at once.

Earlier, the third and fourth instalments were provided together in June due to failing to meet the prior conditions for the third instalment.

The review for the sixth instalment may not be completed by December, Ahmed said, adding that all the conditions for unlocking the tranche have been fulfilled except for the revenue collection target.

The reason for delaying the instalment came up as the donor agencies want to be reassured that the reform activities placed by the interim government will not be scrapped by the political government.

"We have ensured them whichever government comes next will continue the reform programme."

The delayed authorisation of the sixth instalment will not pose any negative impact on the economy as the balance of payments and reserves are in a strong position, he said, adding that both the IMF and the World Bank praised Bangladesh's reform initiatives during the meetings in Washington.

So far, Bangladesh has received $3.6 billion of the $5.5 billion loan programme.