KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan Wednesday received $1.16 billion deposit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Today, SBP has received proceeds of USD 1.16 billion (equivalent of SDR 894 million) after the IMF Executive Board completed the combined seventh and Eight reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan,” wrote the bank.
The bank said that the funds will improve the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves. “[It] will also facilitate realisation of other planned inflows from multilateral and bilateral sources,” read the statement.
2/2 This will help improve SBP’s foreign exchange reserves and will also facilitate realization of other planned inflows from multilateral and bilateral sources.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail IMF has approved the EFF programme and Pakistan would receive $1.7 billion loan under the Seventh and Eight reviews.
He thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as he took tough decisions, which saved the country from default. The minister also congratulated the nation.
Earlier this week, the IMF Executive Board had approved the much needed revival of EFF for Pakistan to boost the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
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The EFF was approved by the Executive Board on July 3, 2019 for SDR 4,268 million (about US$6 billion at the time of approval, or 210 percent of quota).
In order to support program implementation and meet the financing needs in FY23, the IMF Board approved an extension of the EFF until end-June 2023, rephasing and augmentation of access by SDR 720 million that will bring the under the EFF to $6.5 billion.
The program seeks to address domestic and external imbalances, and ensure fiscal discipline and debt sustainability while protecting social spending, safeguarding monetary and financial stability, and maintaining a market-determined exchange rate and rebuilding external buffers.
