IMF Board to review $1.1 Billion Funding for Pakistan on April 29′.
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board is scheduled to meet on April 29 to consider approving a $1.1 billion funding disbursement for Pakistan, the IMF announced on Wednesday.
This funding represents the second and final installment of a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) that Pakistan secured last summer to prevent a sovereign default.
The current SBA is set to expire this month.
Also read: IMF signals to ‘engage’ with Pakistan on fresh bailout
Pakistan is now seeking a new, larger, long-term loan from the IMF. According to Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Islamabad aims to reach a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July.
The Pakistani government is looking for a multi-year loan to stabilize macroeconomic conditions and implement necessary structural reforms. Aurangzeb did not specify the exact size of the loan being sought.
Although Islamabad has not yet formally requested the loan, discussions between the IMF and the Pakistani government are already underway.
If approved, this would be Pakistan’s 24th IMF bailout.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy is currently facing a chronic balance of payments crisis, with upcoming debt and interest payments totaling nearly $24 billion in the next fiscal year—three times the size of its central bank’s foreign currency reserves.
The Pakistani finance ministry predicts economic growth of 2.6% for the current fiscal year ending in June.
Inflation is expected to average around 24%, down from 29.2% in the previous fiscal year (2023/2024).
In May of last year, inflation soared to a record high of 38%.
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