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Miftah Ismail says Pakistan could get $2 billion from IMF

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  • Miftah Ismail says may receive $2 billion instead of $1 billion from IMF.
  • Pakistan receives MEFP from IMF for seventh, eighth reviews.
  • This critical development signals two sides have reached an agreement.

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said Tuesday that Pakistan could get $2 billion instead of $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The finance minister made the comments during his address at the “Turn Around Pakistan” conference after he confirmed Pakistan has received the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) from the IMF for the seventh and eighth reviews.

This is a critical development signalling that the two sides have reached an agreement. The draft MEFP is a prerequisite to paving the way towards striking a staff-level agreement.

Now that Pakistan has received this document, it will be analysed and scrutinised for three days by the country’s economic team.

The finance minister and State Bank of Pakistan governor will then sign it if no major problem is found.

The staff-level agreement will then be presented before the IMF’s Executive Board next month for approval, after which the tranche will be released.

The MEFP may be considered as the crux of decisions negotiated between Pakistan and the Fund because it includes policy actions and structural benchmarks the two sides agreed on.

Pakistan reached IMF accord after US help: sources

Earlier, sources had said Pakistan reached the accord with IMF with the “help” of the United States, as Islamabad made major progress on the discussions held with the lender regarding the federal budget for fiscal year 2022-23.

Speaking on Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, anchor Shahzad Iqbal said that according to his information, Islamabad did get benefit from reaching out to the US because IMF’s attitude earlier was very rigid and the Fund was putting harsh conditions and probably would have refused to close a deal with the country.

However, the anchorperson added, the US pressure made this possible for Pakistan, but there were still no concessions in conditions.

Major progress in talks with Pakistan: IMF

Last Tuesday, the Pakistani authorities and the IMF evolved a broader agreement on budget 2022-23 to revise upward the Federal Board of Revenue’s target and slash expenditures to achieve a revenue surplus in the next fiscal year.

The next day, IMF Resident Representative to Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz said that discussions between the Fund and Pakistan are underway and major progress had been made regarding the budget.

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The total amount of Pakistan’s liquid foreign reserves is $15.95 billion.

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As of February 14, Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves were $15,947.9 million, with the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) holdings being $11,201.5 million.

Official figures for the week ending February 14, 2025, show that the central bank’s liquid foreign exchange reserves rose by $35 million to $11,201.5 million.

Commercial banks maintained net foreign reserves of $4,746.4 million during the period under review, according to the breakdown of foreign reserves.

The nation’s total liquid foreign reserves as of the week ending February 07, 2025, were $15,862.6 million.

Of these, the central bank held $11,166.6 million in foreign reserves, while commercial banks kept $4,696 million in net reserves.

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In January 2025, RDA inflows reach 9.564 billion USD.

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Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.

The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.

Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.

By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.

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FBR lowers Karachi’s built-up structure property valuation rates

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A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.

The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.

A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.

In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.

Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.

Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.

In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.

In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.

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