Business

IMF team to meet Imran Khan seeking assurance on bailout package

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

IMF team to meet PML-N, PPP and PTI.
Lender wants assurance ahead of polls.
IMF board to take up Pakistan case on July 12.

KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking the support of major political parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for a recently announced $3 billion bailout programme, the lender said on Friday.

The IMF’s resident representative Esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement that the meetings with political parties were to “seek assurances of their support for the key objectives and policies under a new IMF-supported program ahead of the approaching national elections.”

The official added that they will also meet Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). However, there is no confirmation from them.

Pakistan secured a badly needed $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA) from the IMF on Friday, giving the South Asian economy a much-awaited respite as it teeters on the brink of default.

The staff-level agreement on the SBA is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board which is scheduled to meet on July 12.

The previous Extended Fund Facility expired on June 30, with the 9th, 10th, and 11th reviews pending.

PTI confirms meeting

Senior PTI leader and former finance minister Hammad Azhar took to Twitter, saying the party’s economic team has been approached by the IMF to solicit its support for the loan agreement and its broad objectives.

“An IMF team will call on party Chairman Imran Khan at Zaman Park this afternoon,” he tweeted.

Azhar said that both PTI’s economic team and the IMF team will join, in person and virtually, to take part in the discussions.

Business

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

Published

1 day 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

1 day 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.