Pakistan working to draw $3bn from IMF loan, says SBP chief

KARACHI: Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Reza Baqir has said that Pakistan is working to draw a $3 billion balance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, the central bank chief said, “We are quite confident that quite soon we will be able to put the delay behind us and soon announce the good news of completing the next tranche from the IMF.”
He said that the IMF is important not just for the money, but also for the signal that it sends of good housekeeping on the economic policy front that catalyses funding from other bilateral creditors as well as private capital markets.
Commenting on the prevailing political uncertainty he said that a stable government is a key to securing a crucial $3 billion remaining from a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
That deal had been threatened by Khan’s decision earlier this year to cut fuel and electricity prices, a step to ease public anguish as inflation pressures mounted but counter to the lender’s requirements, he added.
On the ouster of Imran Khan, he said that Khan’s downfall was accelerated by inflation running faster than 12 percent, the rupee trading near a record low to the dollar and foreign reserves shrinking to levels only able to cover a couple of months of imports.
He further stated that such political processes are not uncommon in democracies, it is important that economic policymaking institutions act on a timely basis to ensure that the goal of financial stability remains. – TLTP