Business

Ishaq Dar to visit Washington to attend IMF, WB meetings

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Dar-led team to attend annual meeting of Bretton Woods Institutions.
Dar may present fresh proposals before IMF, WB for dollar inflows.
Pakistan, IMF to discuss possibility of combining 10th, 11th reviews.

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will be leading a high-powered delegation to the US which will attend the upcoming annual spring meeting of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs), known as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, from April 10 to 16.

The finance minister, along with an official delegation comprising the Finance and Economic Affairs Division secretaries and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, might present fresh proposals before the IMF and World Bank for providing dollar inflows.

During the meetings, according to a The News report, Pakistan and the IMF would also discuss the possibility of combining the remaining 10th and 11th reviews under the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme in case the pending 9th Review is completed.

The IMF programme, signed in 2019, is going to expire on June 30, 2023, and under the set guidelines, the programme cannot be extended beyond the deadline.

It is yet to be seen how the two sides would proceed with the completion of the bailout programme when the 10th Review has already got delayed.

The pending 9th Review was scheduled to be completed in December 2022 and the 10th Review should have been kick-started from February 2023. The 11th Review was scheduled to commence on May 3.

Now the delayed decision on the 9th Review would increase the cost of rectifying the situation.

There is no easy solution available to fix the ailing economy of Pakistan and the government is of the view that they have taken all the tough decisions for reviving the stalled IMF programme.

Now the Fund is seeking verifications from the bilateral friends of Pakistan, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, if they would provide additional assistance of $6 billion till the end of June 2023.

The SBP foreign exchange reserves stood at $4.2 billion, which is not even sufficient for meeting obligations on account of foreign debt servicing including principal amount and markup.

Business

Pakistan’s gold prices continue to decline.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The price of ten grams of 24 carat gold dropped by Rs 1,201 to Rs 205,418 from Rs 206,619, while the price of ten grams of 22 carat gold dropped to Rs 188,300 from Rs 189,400, according to the All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

Silver, priced at Rs. 2,620 per tola and Rs. 2,254.80 per ten grams, stayed at that level. As reported by the organization, the price of gold dropped by $11 on the global market, to $2,297 from $2,308.

Business

Price of LPG “slashed” by Rs. 20 per kilogram

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Sources claim that LPG rates have been lowered by Rs 20, making the cost per kilogram drop from Rs 280 to Rs 260.

It is noteworthy to remark that the costs of LPG were reduced by Rs 20 per kilogram earlier, resulting in a total reduction of Rs 40 per kilogram within a few weeks.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas for the month of May 2024 was lowered by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on April 30.

The LPG tariffs were lowered by Rs 11.88 to Rs 238.46 per kilogram in accordance with the OGRA’s notice. On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the new rates will go into effect.

In April of last year, the price per kilogram of LPG was Rs 250.34. pricing reduction of Rs 140.18 has resulted in a new pricing for home LPG cylinders set for May 2024 of Rs 2813.85.

The OGRA reported a drop in liquefied petroleum gas pricing in April. The price of LPG is now Rs 250.34 per kg instead of Rs 256.78 due to a reduction of Rs 6.44 per kg.

The price of the household cylinder was fixed at Rs 2954.03 for the month of April, down from Rs 3030.12, a decrease of Rs 76.9.

Business

ADB delegation stops by FBR headquarters

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Senior Director ADB Tariq Niazi oversaw the expedition, which also involved Sana Masood, Farzana Noshab, and Senior Public Sector Management Specialist Laisiasa Tora. The meeting included presentations from economists as well, according to an FBR press release.

The officers focused on structural and policy adjustments as they discussed the Domestic Resource Mobilization Program’s implementation at the meeting.

$300 million was given to the Pakistani government by ADB in December 2023 as a result of the hard work and dedication of FBR. Better laws, regulations, and institutional capability for the FBR were established by Sub-Program I.

With the $300 million in funding provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the Government of Pakistan in December 2023, the delegation conveyed satisfaction with the program’s effective launch.

The FBR also underlined how crucial digitization is to recording the economy and boosting productivity in a sustainable way.

In order to promote the Government of Pakistan’s Digital Tax Administration Project, both parties decided to look into measures to improve their cooperation.