Business

After IMF deal, Pakistan gets LNG shipment offer for first time in a year

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Trafigura offers two LNG shipments for January to February delivery.
Move comes as Pakistan’s government finances are on the mend.
It still isn’t clear if Pakistan will follow through with buying the fuel.

Just two days after Pakistan secured final approval to borrow $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the crisis-hit country’s request to buy liquefied natural gas received a response from a supplier for the first time in more than one year.

Last month, Pakistan failed to secure LNG from the spot market in its first attempt in about a year, as no supplier seems to budge to the cash-strapped nation’s offer.

Traders, on the condition of anonymity, had said that Pakistan LNG Limited’s (PLL) bid to purchase six shipments for October to December closed with no companies responding to the offer, Bloomberg had reported.

As per the latest update, Trafigura Group offered two LNG shipments for January to February delivery, said traders privy to the matter.

According to the media outlet, the move comes as Pakistan’s government finances are on the mend. The nation won final approval to borrow $3 billion from the IMF earlier this week, unlocking long-awaited lending that will help ease its dire need for cash.

The shipments that Trafigura offered are priced at roughly a 30% premium to current market prices, according to traders. Typically, spot purchases of fuel would be sold at similar levels to market prices.

Pakistan won’t award the tender until July 31, and it still isn’t clear if the country will follow through with buying the fuel. Credit risk had been a barrier stopping LNG suppliers from selling spot shipments to the nation.

IMF deposits $1.2 billion with SBP

The IMF deposited $1.2 billion into the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) account yesterday, boosting the cash-strapped nation’s hope for economic stability, as it teetered on the brink of default for several months.

The global lender’s executive board approved a $3 billion Stand-By Agreement (SBA) under a nine-month programme. Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the lender last month, securing a short-term pact, which got more than expected funding for the crises-hit country of 230 million.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had said, “Our foreign exchange reserves will close at around $13-$14 billion on July 14 […] and the SBP will release the exact numbers later on.”

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

14 hours ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.