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IMF demands govt submit new report on state-owned enterprises’ losses

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  • Central Monitoring Unit team asked to submit report.
  • Fund says it won’t accept reports based on old statistics.
  • IMF’s review mission visiting Pakistan from Nov 13-16.

ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry has been asked by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to submit a fresh report regarding the losses incurred by state-owned enterprises, Geo News learnt from sources on Monday.

The Fund’s mission, which is currently in Pakistan to review the country’s loan tranche, said it won’t accept the reports based on old statistics, the sources said.

Therefore, it has demanded that the Central Monitoring Unit team submit its first updated assessment report for the first quarter of the current financial year.

The IMF’s review mission is in Pakistan currently to complete the first review under the $3 billion loan programme and the possibility of releasing the second tranche of $700 million by the end of December 2023. The tranche would go through if both sides are able to strike a staff-level agreement at the end of the talks.

Pakistan and the IMF teams are currently holding technical-level talks while the policy-level talks will be held next week from November 13-16.

The Finance Ministry, on the other hand, has sought time from the IMF for submission of the report by December 2023, sources added.

In its reply to the Fund’s delegation, the team said that government-owned enterprises are currently under scrutiny and the new statistical report will soon be completed, the sources said.

Pakistan’s fiscal framework IMF’s focus

Earlier today, The News reported that the visiting IMF mission is focused on Pakistan’s fiscal framework for the ongoing financial year 2023-24 to turn the primary deficit into surplus under the $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA).

The IMF is not concerned by the overall rising fiscal deficit due to the escalating debt servicing of Rs1 trillion for the current fiscal year. The government has planned to keep a lid on the debt servicing bill till Rs7.3 trillion but the IMF has forecast that it may balloon up to Rs8.3 trillion till the end of June 2024.

The primary surplus means that the deficit would be calculated by excluding debt servicing in the shape of principal and mark-up amounts requirement on domestic and foreign loans.

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Pakistan’s gold prices are still declining; see the most recent

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The price of 10-gram gold reduced by Rs943 to settle at Rs207,733, while the price of gold dropped by Rs1200 to close at Rs242,300 a tola, according to the Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

In the global market, the price of the precious metal fell by $10 to $2,349 per ounce, resulting in losses.

At 04:48 GMT, the spot price of gold had dropped by 0.2% to $2,354.77 per ounce. In the previous session, prices reached a two-week high.

American gold futures dropped 0.6% to $2,361.

Spot silver decreased by 0.4% to $28.03 per ounce, while palladium remained steady at $978.03 and platinum decreased by 0.1% to $992.89.

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Pakistan and the IMF begin talks for a new loan.

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Pakistan is requesting a $6 to $8 billion bailout package from the international lender over the next three to four years to address its financial troubles.

A mission team led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief in Pakistan, is meeting with a Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Islamabad may face more difficult options, such as raising power and gas bills.

Mr. Aurganzeb informed the IMF team that the country’s economy has improved as a result of the IMF loan package, and Islamabad is ready to sign a new loan programme to further develop.

The IMF mission expressed satisfaction with Islamabad’s efforts to revive the country’s struggling economy.

The IMF praised Pakistan’s economic growth in its staff report earlier this week, but warned that the outlook remains challenging, with very high downside risks.

The country nearly avoided collapse last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized since the end of the last IMF program, with inflation falling to roughly 17% in April from a record high of 38% last May.

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Petrol prices are likely to drop significantly beginning May 16.

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According to sources, the government is set to decrease petrol prices by Rs 14 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 10 on May 16 for the next fortnight’s revision.

Last month, the government reduced the price of fuel and high-speed diesel by Rs5.45 and Rs8.42 per fortnight, respectively.

The current fuel price is Rs288.49 per litre, while the HSD price is Rs281.96.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell further on Monday, as signs of sluggish fuel consumption and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials dimmed optimism for interest rate reduction, which may slow growth and reduce fuel demand in the world’s largest economy.

Brent crude prices down 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.07 per barrel.

Oil prices also declined on signals of poor demand, according to ANZ analysts, as gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States increased in the week before the start of the driving season.

Refiners throughout the world are dealing with falling diesel profitability as new refineries increase supply and warm weather in the northern hemisphere and weak economic activity reduce demand.

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