IMF review mission commends Pakistan for economic progress -finance ministry
Reuters
Published Nov 02, 2023 01:21PM ET
(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) review mission met with Pakistani authorities in Islamabad on Thursday and commended the government on its progress toward economic recovery, the country's finance ministry said in a statement.
The South Asian nation is operating under a caretaker government after an IMF loan programme, approved in July, helped avert a sovereign debt default.
Under the $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA), Pakistan received $1.2 billion from the IMF as the first tranche in July.
"Nathan Porter, IMF Mission Chief, appreciated the government's commitment to meeting the first-quarter targets, and commended the government's efforts and measures taken in some critical areas," the ministry said.
The IMF has not made a statement on the meeting and could not be immediately reached for comment.
The ministry's statement added that caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar briefed the IMF mission on fiscal measures and discussed reforms and measures undertaken by Pakistan's taxation body, as well as the government's strategies to address its circular debt issue.
Circular debt is a form of public debt that builds up in the power sector due to subsidies and unpaid bills.
On Monday, Pakistan's central bank held its key rate at 22%. In its statement it said that a "successful and timely completion of the upcoming IMF-SBA review would help unlock other multilateral and bilateral financing."
On Oct. 13, Jameel Ahmad, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released a statement saying that Pakistan's central bank had met an end-September deadline for a forward book target of $4.2 billion agreed with the IMF.
He added that the SBP is also comfortably placed to meet the other end-September IMF targets, including Net International Reserves (NIR) and Net Domestic Assets (NDA).
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.