KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Acting Governor Murtaza Syed said that Pakistan is likely to receive a $1.17 billion loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within six days after the Executive Board’s approval.
The SBP acting governor was talking to Bloomburg TV.
The acting governor said that the country’s forex reserves will shore up to $16 billion by the end of the current fiscal year 2022-23 which dropped to $8 billion due to delay in the revival of the IMF agreement and external flows.
“Pakistan has commitments of $38 billion so we are over financed,†he said, adding that approvals of bilateral help will materialise soon, amounting to $4 billion, while the current account deficit is expected to clock in at around 3% of the gross domestic product.
Pakistan has approached China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to meet the financing gap on the IMF’s demand.
The executive board of the Washington-based lender is scheduled to meet on August 29 (Monday), accordingly, analysts expect the Fund to give its final approval as Pakistan has met all prior conditions necessary to revive the stalled loan programme.
Islamabad reached the staff-level agreement with the Washington-based lender in July but the board meeting could not be held despite Pakistan’s appeal to expedite the process.