Business

IMF to ‘remain engaged’ with Pakistan despite political tumult

Published

12 months ago

Farwa

“Pakistan authorities have committed not to introduce fuel cross-subsidy,” IMF says.
Fund says it sees no indication that Pakistan wants to pause negotiations.
Political crisis in the wake of Imran Khan’s arrest have sparked concerns about IMF programme.

Amid speculations that Pakistan’s chances of clinching a long-suspended International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout have been reduced due to the political situation, the lender clarified that it “remains engaged” with Islamabad, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Declining to comment on the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, the spokesperson of the global lender said: “IMF remains engaged with Pakistan on securing funding and policy assurances with the goal of reaching an agreement on the ninth review of the $6.7 billion loan agreed in 2019.”

“The IMF sees no indication that Pakistan wants to pause negotiations on disbursement from the current programme,” the spokesperson told the foreign publication.

Following the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, concerns sparked that Pakistan was edging closer to a default as political unrest will delay an IMF bailout.

“It looks increasingly difficult for Pakistan to avoid a default in the absence of fresh funding support coming in,” said Eng Tat Low, an emerging-market sovereign analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments in Singapore.

“I am also growing more skeptical whether an IMF deal is going to come through. Their heavy debt amortisation against precarious reserves would suggest default is imminent,” he added.

Violent protests erupted in Pakistan on Tuesday with dozens injured across several cities and demonstrators attacking military buildings after Khan was arrested. Moreover, the police initiated a crackdown and arrested the top leadership of the party along with thousands of workers.

The rupee slumped to a record low and slid over 3% a dollar on Thursday. Dollar bonds due 2031 fell to the lowest since November and were indicated at 33.10 cents on the dollar.

‘No petrol subsidy’

Moreover, the Fund also revealed that Pakistani authorities have committed to the lender that petrol subsidy would not be introduced.

“Pakistan authorities have committed not to introduce fuel cross-subsidy scheme in F23 [fiscal year 2022-23] and beyond,” the spokesperson said.

The statement comes as a surprise as Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik, on Tuesday, said that Pakistan aims to address IMF’s concerns before implementing its new fuel subsidy plan.

“The IMF had some reservations about the government’s plan to raise fuel prices for wealthier motorists to finance a subsidy for lower-income people”, he said on Bloomberg TV in an interview.

Malik said: “We originally thought that it was a much simpler idea. We want to make sure now that if we move forward, we take care of their concerns and make sure that they completely understand what we are trying to do and why.”

However, the Washington-based lender has now said that Pakistan has already committed to the Fund that it would not introduce the subsidy.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.