Business

IMF demands govt submit new report on state-owned enterprises’ losses

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Central Monitoring Unit team asked to submit report.
Fund says it won’t accept reports based on old statistics.
IMF’s review mission visiting Pakistan from Nov 13-16.

ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry has been asked by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to submit a fresh report regarding the losses incurred by state-owned enterprises, Geo News learnt from sources on Monday.

The Fund’s mission, which is currently in Pakistan to review the country’s loan tranche, said it won’t accept the reports based on old statistics, the sources said.

Therefore, it has demanded that the Central Monitoring Unit team submit its first updated assessment report for the first quarter of the current financial year.

The IMF’s review mission is in Pakistan currently to complete the first review under the $3 billion loan programme and the possibility of releasing the second tranche of $700 million by the end of December 2023. The tranche would go through if both sides are able to strike a staff-level agreement at the end of the talks.

Pakistan and the IMF teams are currently holding technical-level talks while the policy-level talks will be held next week from November 13-16.

The Finance Ministry, on the other hand, has sought time from the IMF for submission of the report by December 2023, sources added.

In its reply to the Fund’s delegation, the team said that government-owned enterprises are currently under scrutiny and the new statistical report will soon be completed, the sources said.

Pakistan’s fiscal framework IMF’s focus

Earlier today, The News reported that the visiting IMF mission is focused on Pakistan’s fiscal framework for the ongoing financial year 2023-24 to turn the primary deficit into surplus under the $3 billion standby arrangement (SBA).

The IMF is not concerned by the overall rising fiscal deficit due to the escalating debt servicing of Rs1 trillion for the current fiscal year. The government has planned to keep a lid on the debt servicing bill till Rs7.3 trillion but the IMF has forecast that it may balloon up to Rs8.3 trillion till the end of June 2024.

The primary surplus means that the deficit would be calculated by excluding debt servicing in the shape of principal and mark-up amounts requirement on domestic and foreign loans.

Business

The NORINCO Group is invited by CM Sindh to explore opportunities.

Published

2 hours ago

Farwa

Chinese companies have been invited by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to visit Karachi and other regions of Sindh Province in order to observe the quickly growing businesses and investigate prospects in fields like clean energy, infrastructure development, and public transit projects.

Speaking in Beijing to a delegation headed by the chairman of NORINCO International Co., Ltd., he stated that all facilities required would be provided by the governments of Sindh Province and Pakistan.

With assistance from NORINCO International, the Sindh Chief Minister stated that the Provincial Government will firmly urge North Vehicle and BeiBen to think about setting up a Vehicle Assembly Plant in the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone.

Business

A deal with Pakistan to fight financial crimes has been approved by the Saudi cabinet.

Published

3 hours ago

Farwa

In order to strengthen collaboration in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and associated crimes, the Saudi Press Agency announced this week that the Saudi cabinet, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).

Due to its severe money laundering and terrorism funding issues in recent years, Pakistan was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in June 2018.

The nation was taken off the gray list in October 2022 after enacting extensive measures to fortify its financial system.

The FMU is Pakistan’s financial intelligence unit, created under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010 and tasked with collaborating with foreign partners and evaluating reports of suspicious transactions.

According to the SPA, “the cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in exchanging investigations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related crimes between the Financial Monitoring Unit in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the General Department of Financial Investigation at the Presidency of State Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The MoU is an indication of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s growing strategic partnership. A significant Pakistani diaspora resides in the Kingdom, and numerous Pakistani businesses have established a presence there.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of Pakistan’s economy, bolstering its reserves with substantial deposits in the State Bank of Pakistan and offering deferred oil payment facilities.