Business

Pakistan to receive $1.17b from IMF within six days after board’s approval: SBP chief

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

IMF’s executive board is scheduled to meet on August 29.
Fund will take up matter of loan dispersal to Pakistan.
“Pakistan has commitments of $38bn, we are over financed,” says acting SBP governor.

KARACHI: Pakistan is likely to receive a $1.17 billion loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within six days after the Executive Board’s approval, State Bank of Pakistan Acting Governor Murtaza Syed told Bloomberg TV.

The executive board of the Washington-based lender is scheduled to meet on August 29 (Monday); accordingly, analysts expect the Fund to give its final approval as Pakistan has met all prior conditions necessary to revive the stalled loan programme.

The acting governor said that the country’s forex reserves will shore up to $16 billion by the end of the current fiscal year 2022-23 which dropped to $8 billion due to delay in the revival of the IMF agreement and external flows.

“Pakistan has commitments of $38 billion so we are over financed,” he said, adding that approvals of bilateral help will materialise soon, amounting to $4 billion, while the current account deficit is expected to clock in at around 3% of the gross domestic product.

Pakistan has approached China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to meet the financing gap on the IMF’s demand.

The breakdown of commitment of $4 billion from friendly countries includes $2 billion from Qatar, $1 billion from Saudi Arabia (deferred oil facility), and $1 billion from UAE (investment). These amounts are expected to be received over the next twelve months.

Islamabad reached the staff-level agreement with the Washington-based lender in July but the board meeting could not be held despite Pakistan’s appeal to expedite the process.

Business

To comply with IMF requirements, the government implements new pension reforms.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

With the implementation of pension changes for retired federal government employees, Pakistan has met another requirement stipulated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In this context, the Ministry of Finance has released two notices.

The proposed regulations will provide retired workers with a pension equal to their average wage during the previous 24 months.

Every year, the pension will be raised in accordance with the average earnings.

The double pension arrangement has also been eliminated. A retired employee can only get their pay or pension if they return to work for any organization; they cannot get both.

Moreover, eligibility for pensions has been made clear in situations where the husband and wife are both employed by the federal government.

Business

The first trading day of 2025 sees the KSE-100 Index rise more than 1,600 points.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

Early trading on Wednesday saw the benchmark KSE-100 Index jump more than 1,600 points, giving the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) a strong start to the new year.

By 10:30 AM, the index had jumped 1675 points, or 1.08%, to 116804 points. This spike signaled a strong start to 2025, with widespread purchases in important industries.

Commercial banks, fertilizers, cement, oil and gas exploration firms, OMCs, power production, pharmaceuticals, and vehicles all saw notable increases.

Leading the charge in today’s surge were index-heavy stocks, such as HUBCO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, ENGRO, MCB, and MEBL; all were trading in the green and helped the market perform well.

A rather muted finish to 2024 was followed by the bullish sentiment. The KSE-100 Index ended the year at 115,126.90 points, down just 132.09 points, or 0.11%, indicating a muted conclusion to what had been an incredible year for the market.

2024 turned out to be a record-breaking year for the PSX in spite of the difficulties the Pakistani economy was facing. According to analysts, the KSE-100 Index experienced an incredible 84.34% increase, placing it as the second-best performing market in the world. With an incredible 178% rise over the last 18 months, the PSX has outperformed all major international markets and has seen the highest performance in Pakistan’s stock market history over such a brief time frame.

Pakistani stocks continue to trade at an average forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of only 6.3x, despite the impressive increase, according to Muhammad Sohail, the chief analyst and CEO of Topline Securities. He underlined that this suggests a significant chance for future expansion.

As the PSX rejoices over its spectacular surge, global markets began 2025 more mutedly. The Nifty 50 fell 0.11% at 23,617.75 points and the BSE Sensex fell 0.09% at 78,057.81 points by 9:35 AM, indicating a lackluster performance by India’s key indexes.

Business

On the final day of the year, the Bulls continue to run on PSX.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Early on Tuesday, the final day of the year, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was optimistic.

The KSE-100 index rose 970 points to 116,229 points as the market opened strongly. On Monday, the KSE-110 index increased by 3,900 points.

After rising 927 points on Friday, the market closed at 111,351 points, indicating volatility in the preceding week.

Throughout the latter months of 2024, the PSX has been bullish. On November 29, it reached the historic 100,000 mark for the first time. A number of variables, including the policy rate drop, have positively impacted the PSX.