Business

Pakistan-IMF loan talks: SBP asked to increase interest rate

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Forex held by SBP stands at $3.1bn after increase of $276m.
Pakistani authorities hoping to strike agreement next week.
Sources say IMF pressing hard on gross forex target.

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held a round of talks about the possibility of further tightening of monetary policy and building up foreign exchange reserves for the end of June 2023, The News reported Saturday.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, held by the SBP, stood at $3.1 billion after it went up by $276 million till February 10, 2023.

This was mainly because of improved liquidity in the market after narrowing down differences between the inter-bank and open markets after allowing adjustments of the exchange rate.

Keeping in view the IMF’s prescriptions to jack up the foreign exchange reserves up to $12 billion till end June 2023, Pakistan will have to secure at least $17-18 billion in four-and-a-half months. It included external debt repayment requirement of $5 billion, financing of current account deficit (CAD) of $3-4 billion and $8-9 billion for building up the foreign exchange reserves till June 30, 2023.

If Pakistan’s wish list is accepted by the IMF, it requires dollar inflows of $11-12 billion for meeting foreign debt servicing, financing of CAD and building up of foreign exchange reserves up to $6-$7 billion by end of June 2023.

The IMF has also asked the SBP for jacking up the policy rate by 300 to 400 basis points in order to move towards the interest rate from a negative to a positive trajectory.

But the SBP officials made it clear that the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was established under the SBP’s Amendment Act, and the forum was empowered to take a decision keeping in view the macroeconomic fundamentals.

A senior official of the finance ministry told The News on Friday that the Pakistani side was asking the IMF review mission to strike the staff level agreement (SLA) next week before the IMF’s executive board meeting, expected in four to six weeks.

The Pakistani authorities are still hoping for striking a staff-level agreement next week, but a gap still existed on a projection of the external financing front.

One senior official conceded that Pakistan undertook tough and bold decisions by increasing electricity and gas tariffs and slapping Rs170 billion in taxes through a mini-budget. The exchange rate was brought to market-based and the POL [petrol, oil, lubricants] prices surged.

Taking all these steps was in the hands of Pakistani authorities, but now the most critical steps remained unresolved on account of securing confirmation from all multilateral and bilateral creditors for meeting the yawning external financing requirements during the programme period. The IMF programme of EFF would expire on June 30, 2023, and there is no possibility to grant any further extension in it.

“The IMF is pressing hard on gross foreign exchange reserves target up to $11-$12 billion till the end of June 2023. However, the Pakistani side is asking for fixing gross foreign exchange reserves less than double digit in the range of $6 to $8 billion, keeping in view the possibility of reduced confirmation from bilateral partners,” said official sources, who are privy to the developments on the ongoing virtual parleys with the IMF mission for moving towards the signing of staff level agreement.

Both sides have agreed that there was no possibility to touch gross foreign exchange reserves position up to $16.2 billion till the end of June 2023, as sought on the occasion of finalising the 7th and 8th reviews under the $6.5 billion EFF arrangement.

Now the Pakistani side wants a 50% reduction in fixing the target for the end of the program period, but the IMF is insisting on seeking confirmation from all possible avenues.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who is currently visiting Dubai, has been running from pillar to post to seeking confirmation from multilateral, bilateral creditors and commercial banks in order to muster up the required dollar inflows support for securing approval from the IMF for the revival of the stalled programme.

Business

China Contributes 43 New Foreign Firms to the 6% Growth in SECP Registrations

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has registered 2,617 new firms this year, a 6% increase from 2023, with assistance from the Special Investment Facilitation Council. This increases the overall number of businesses that are registered to 231,111.

Non-profits, trade associations, and public unlisted firms make up 4% of these, while private limited corporations make up 55% and single-member companies 41%. It is noteworthy that 99.8% of the registrations were done online, demonstrating SECP’s attempts to digitise.

Real estate has 237 new businesses, services has 306, and trade has 377 new businesses. These are the main sectors exhibiting growth. While the healthcare and textile industries each had 49 new businesses, the education sector saw 101.

China contributed the most, adding 43 new companies, out of the 61 new companies that were registered as a result of foreign investment.

These recently registered businesses are anticipated to decrease imports, increase domestic production, and contribute to closing the trade deficit.

Business

PSX reaches an all-time high as the KSE-100 Index surpasses 86,000 points.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has achieved a significant milestone, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index has attained an unprecedented peak.

On Tuesday at midday, the index ascended by 788 points, attaining a record high of 86,846 points. Following the ratification of the constitutional amendments, the stock market has increased by 1500 points over a span of two days.

Earlier today, the KSE-100 Index increased by 683 points, attaining a value of 86,741 points, before concluding at this new apex.

The bullish trend was apparent from the commencement of the trading session, with the index rising an additional 555 points to reach 86,612 points throughout the day. The reinstatement of the 86,500-point threshold signifies robust market performance.

Business

In three months, Pakistan’s IT exports increased by 33.54 percent.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

During the first three months of FY 2024-25 (July to September), Pakistan’s IT export remittances hit US$ 876 million, a notable 33.54 percent rise from US$ 656 million during the same period previous year (FY 2023-24).

In a statement, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that the amount of money sent home by the export of ICT services was US$ 292 million in September 2024, a 41.7% increase from US$ 206 million in the same month the previous year.

She stated that efforts to make it easier for businesses to conduct business in the nation are the reason why IT exports are rising and that actions are being taken to increase them.

In response to the Prime Minister’s directions, Shaza Fatima stated that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Pakistan Software Export Board, and the IT industry are dedicated to boosting IT exports with the full assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

A trade surplus of US$ 764 million was recorded by the IT & ITeS sector in the first three months of FY 2024–25, accounting for 87.21 percent of all ICT export remittances.

Over the same period last year, this surplus represents a 36.67 percent gain over US$ 559 million. The services industry as a whole, however, experienced a trade deficit of US$ 699 million during this period.

The largest of all service sectors, ICT export remittances from July to September 2024, were US$ 656 million, followed by “other business services” at US$ 374 million.