Business

IMF ‘satisfied’ with Pakistan but no deal this week

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Finance minister says Pakistan “very close” to signing SLA with IMF.
Says Pakistan “absolutely committed” to completing IMF programme.
Calls for correcting mistakes made on the economic front in the last four years.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “satisfied” with Pakistan’s actions but the staff-level agreement could not be signed this week.

“We seem to be very close to signing the staff-level agreement hopefully in the next few days,” Dar said in his address during a seminar titled “Reviving Economic Stability through the Strengthening of Public Financial Management” in the federal capital.

However, the finance minister, while citing his experience of completing 12 reviews of the “one and only” IMF programme Pakistan completed, shared that “it has taken longer than it should have” for Islamabad to complete the pending ninth review.

“I think we owe to this nation that we show seriousness, we deliver and we demonstrate to the world that we can honour the sovereign commitments no matter who made those,” said Dar. He also assured that his team was “absolutely committed” to completing the programme to the “best” of their ability.

While berating the Imran Khan-led government, Dar shared the situation of the economy when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government left in 2018.

The minister said that it pained him to see the economy fall to the rank of 47 in 2022 after it was predicted that Pakistan would join G20 by the end of 2030.

The finance czar also highlighted that the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) market capitalisation was over $100 billion but dropped to $26 billion in the last few years.

“Another serious issue that we should be pondering about is the debt sustainability of Pakistan,” said the finance minister. He added that it was under $30 trillion in 2018 and has now climbed to $55 trillion in 2022.

“As a consequence, this country which used to have debt servicing of less than $2 trillion per annum in the fiscal year 2016-17 has risen to over $5 trillion,” said Dar.

“I think in the last few years, we should see what mistakes we have made on the economic front and we should try to correct those as soon as possible,” said the finance minister.

‘IMF deal not to be signed this week’

Later, to a question by a journalist, the finance minister said the agreement will not be finalised this week.

“Staff-level agreement with IMF is unlikely this week,” said the finance minister, adding that the Fund was “satisfied” with the actions taken by Pakistan.

When pressed that he had assured of striking the SLA by this week, Dar responded: “I said a few days, not this week.”

Business

Islamic Sukuk Bonds: Government Is Expected To Begin Bond Auction Next Week

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

There is now more positive economic news for the people of Pakistan. The government is anticipated to begin the Sukuk Islamic Bond auction next week, after the central bank’s announcement of a large drop in the policy rate.

Business

SIFC Encourages Green Tourism: Reforming Visas to Increase Investment

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Enhancing investment in the tourism sector, Green Tourism Pakistan’s initiative has received backing from the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Visa-On-Arrival for 126 countries, Visa-Free Entry for Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and 24-hour expedited visa processing are some of the main features of the Green Tourism Visa Policy.

It is anticipated that these endeavors will draw in about 80 million dollars in foreign direct investment and 8.3 billion rupees in domestic investment.

Green Tourism Private Limited has introduced hunting resorts in Naltar, Hunza, and Skardu, along with four- and five-star city hotels, to improve the tourism experience.

In the first phase of the project, 17 of the 78 areas have seen the start of development activity.

Approved is a central authority for Green Tourism that will supervise the growth of Air Operations.

To promote Religious Tourism, extra precautions have been taken to guarantee the security of visitors from all religions, including Sikhs and Buddhists.

Furthermore, in order to improve the quality of the tourist experience, the green guide quality program has been introduced to supply top-notch tour guides.

There is now a deluxe bus excursion from Islamabad to Peshawar that promotes local culture.

Business

July 2024 export data from Pakistan shows a significant rise.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

The Strategic Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been instrumental in improving Pakistani products’ access to international markets, as seen by the significant surge in exports from the country at the start of the 2024–25 fiscal year.

With a 7.26% rise over the same month the previous year, July 2024 exports to the US were $476.017 million. After increasing by 7.74% annually, the United Arab Emirates emerged as the second-largest export destination.

The third and fourth places were occupied by exports to the UK ($183.303 million) and China ($60.100 million). A substantial increase in exports to Afghanistan was recorded in July of this year, rising from $46.262 million to $88.065 million, largely due to successful anti-smuggling efforts.

With a combined export volume of $553.951 million, more important export destinations included Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

A bright future for the national economy is suggested by the growing confidence major international markets have in Pakistani exports. Through the efforts of SIFC and the government, this greater access to global markets has been made possible.

Pakistan’s economy is predicted to remain stable as a result of the export growth that SIFC has enabled.