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

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

Published

16 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

16 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.