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Finance ministry readies itself for upcoming IMF review

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11 months ago

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  • IMF team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Nov 2 and is expected to stay in Pakistan till Nov 16.
  • IMF team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Nov 2. 
  • It is expected to stay in Pakistan till Nov 16.
  • Real bone of contention to be external financing needs.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance has started preparing for the upcoming review talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that expected to are expected to begin this week, reported The News on Tuesday.

According to the publication, the ministry has evaluated the progress on key targets, including achieving the disbursement of Rs87.5 billion in cash transfers to beneficiaries under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

IMF, under the quantitative performance criteria, had set the ceiling on the amount of government guarantees related target at Rs4,000 billion but the ministry was able to confine total guarantees to Rs3,853 billion till the end of September 2023. But the real bone of contention in the review talks would be the external financing needs of Pakistan.

The forex market functioning may also become a problematic issue as the IMF had placed the withdrawal of the circular on prioritisation in providing forex for certain types of imports introduced in December 2022 under a structural benchmark. It was placed under structural benchmark as the IMF wanted to ensure “full market determination of the exchange rate”.

The finance ministry in its meeting took note of the progress on quantitative performance criteria, continuous performance criteria, indicative target, and structural benchmark conditions agreed with the IMF for the end of September 2023 under the $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA) programme.

The IMF team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on November 2 and is expected to stay in the country till November 16.

The government has also kept the circular debt of the power sector within the envisaged limits as it went up by Rs227 billion in the first quarter and touched Rs2.5 trillion by the end of September 2023.

“The target of increasing circular debt has been achieved successfully which was agreed with the IMF under revised circular debt management plan (CDMP),” an official told The News on Monday.

Regarding cash transfer to the beneficiaries under BISP, the official said that the government has so far disbursed Rs89 billion till September 2023 against the envisaged target of Rs87.5 billion. He added that the unconditional and conditional cash transfer was “well within the desired target”.

The official said that the next installment would be disbursed under BISP in November 2023, after which the cumulative disbursement under the programme would touch Rs185 billion. The government has allocated a disbursement target of Rs460 billion for BISP in the ongoing fiscal year.

Meanwhile, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officials said that they are on track to meet the floor on net international reserves (NIR) which they said would stand at negative $14.5 billion till the end of September 2023.

The ceiling on net government budgetary borrowing from the SBP stood at Rs4,078 billion for the end of September 2023 as the government’s borrowing from the central bank remained zero.

The indicative target of FBR’s collection has been achieved as the floor on net tax revenues collected by the FBR was envisaged at Rs1,977 billion till the end of September 2023. The ceiling on net accumulation of tax refund arrears stood at Rs32 billion.

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

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3 days ago

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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.

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SIFC Encourages Green Tourism: Reforming Visas to Increase Investment

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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.

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July 2024 export data from Pakistan shows a significant rise.

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3 days ago

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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.

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