In a key development, Pakistan government and the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission began on Monday discussions on further engagement, as the South-Asian country looks to win a larger and longer deal after it completed a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) last month.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb met the delegation of IMF mission led by its chief Nathan Porter on Monday, a statement from the Finance Division said.
“The finance minister apprised the IMF team of the improvement in the macro-economic indicators over the course of the SBA and underscored the government’s commitment to continue with and expand upon the reform agenda,” the statement read.
Pakistan aims to agree outline of new IMF loan in May: Finance Minister
The meeting was attended by Governor-State Bank of Pakistan, Chairman-Federal Board of Revenue, and senior officers of the finance ministry, it added.
Last month, Pakistan received $1.1 billion from the IMF in the final tranche of the $3 billion SBA. The disbursement would help the country achieve greater economic stability, PM Shehbaz said later.
The IMF inflow also pushed the foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan to nearly two-year high, as they clocked in at $9.12 billion as of May 3.
Pakistan is now looking to secure a larger and longer Extended Fund Facility of the IMF programme to achieve macroeconomic stability in the country.
Wall Street bank Citi expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the IMF for a new four-year programme of up to $8 billion by end-July, and recommends going long on the country’s 2027 international bond.
“While longer-term challenges pertain, we see several positive catalysts supporting the Eurobonds,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.
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