Pakistan will receive the $1.17 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in six days following approval from the Executive Board, which is scheduled to meet on August 29, according to SBP Acting Governor Murtaza Syed.
Murtaza Syed stated that the country’s forex reserves will be replenished to $16 billion by the end of the current fiscal year, up from $8 billion due to the worsening economic currency crisis.
“Pakistan has commitments of $38 billion so we are over finance,” he said.
The central bank chief stated that $4 billion in bilateral assistance will be approved soon, with the current account deficit expected to be 3% of GDP.
Pakistan has approached China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to fill the IMF’s financing gap.
The $4 billion commitment from friendly countries is divided as follows: $2 billion from Qatar, $1 billion from Saudi Arabia (deferred oil facility), and $1 billion from the UAE (investment). These sums are expected to be received over the next year.
Islamabad reached a staff-level agreement with the Washington-based lender in July, but the board meeting was unable to take place despite Pakistan’s request to speed up the process.
He added that the IMF agreement delay and lack of external flows reduced the country’s forex reserves from $16 billion in February to $8 billion.
