Pakistan is beginning discussions with the IMF for Climate Resiliency Funding, and the Finance Minister has stated that reprofiled talks with China are positive as the country attempts to extend payment times.

China has responded positively to Pakistan’s request to extend the maturities of debt related to the Belt and Road program, the Finance Minister stated in a Bloomberg interview.

The nation wants to “create enough space” to reduce electricity, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb, by lengthening the maturities of debt taken out for power plants.

“These are the early stages of those negotiations,” he stated. The former banker for JPMorgan Chase & Co. visited China in July and spoke with Chinese officials about debt.

To avoid having to borrow from the IMF again, he said, the nation must continue to exercise self-control in order to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio from below 10% to 13.5%.

With 25 IMF programs, he said, Pakistan is one of the most frequent borrowers. While the Pakistani delegation is attending the conference in Washington, the government hopes to start talking about asking the IMF for more funding through its Climate Resiliency Fund.

Pakistan would target industries like retail and agriculture that have resisted past taxation initiatives in order to achieve its objective, he added. By January, the provinces of the country will begin working on agriculture-related laws, with the goal of beginning collection by July.

The central bank of Pakistan has lowered its benchmark interest rate by 450 basis points, from a record 22% to 17.5%, for three consecutive meetings, he added. The policy rate may be lowered by the Central Bank during its upcoming meeting on November 4.

With a 378-point gain at the start of the day, the index shot to an all-time high of 86,844 points.

The index rose 474 points more, setting a new record high of 86,940 points, as the positive trend persisted throughout the day.

The spike comes after yesterday’s upward trend, in which the PSX closed at a record-breaking 86,807 points. The market’s steady upward trajectory is being driven by investors’ continued optimism as trust in economic stability increases.

An attempt has been made by the government to lower electricity rates by Rs 10 per unit in an effort to alleviate the burden of capacity payments on electricity users.

There are ongoing talks with independent power producers (IPPs) to adopt a “give electricity, take money” or “take and pay” approach, according to government records.

Capacity payments to idle power plants will no longer exist under this plan, which will only compensate power firms that provide electricity.

According to the government task force’s projections, this strategy might save up to Rs948 billion a year, giving customers a benefit of Rs9.70 per unit.

Rs 1,916Due to capacity charges, consumers currently bear an annual burden of Rs1,916.

Electricity users nationwide will benefit greatly from this capacity cost decrease if the current negotiations with IPPs are successful.