KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has successfully met the IMF’s Net International Reserves (NIR) target of Dec 2024 with a wide margin and also expecting to achieve the Jun 2025 target.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed, provided key updates on the country’s monetary policy and economic outlook during an analysts briefing after the monetary policy committee meeting on Monday. The discussion covered critical areas, including foreign reserves, policy rate decisions, external borrowings, and regulatory measures.
During the briefing Governor SBP highlighted that the SBP successfully met the IMF target of NIR for December 2024 with a significant margin. He also expressed confidence in achieving the June 2025 target, reinforcing the country’s commitment to stabilizing foreign reserves.
SBP-held foreign exchange reserves increase $30mn, now stand at $11.72bn
He said approximately $3 billion in repayments (net of rollovers and refinanced amounts) are due in the remaining period of FY25. Expected inflows, planned in the past few months, are likely to materialize in the fourth quarter of FY25. Some of these inflows will be unlocked following a successful IMF review.
He said that the government and state bank have deliberately delayed external borrowing to negotiate more favorable terms. The governor indicated that progress on this front is expected in the coming months.
Addressing concerns about the Rs. 3 million cap on car financing, the Governor SBP said that the current regulatory framework will remain unchanged. However, he assured that the policy could be reviewed in the future based on economic conditions.
He mentioned while inflation remains a key consideration, the SBP also evaluates external accounts, foreign exchange reserves, and exchange rate stability when deciding on the monetary policy rate.
The Governor of SBP provided an update on the country’s external debt obligations for FY25 during an analyst briefing, outlining the repayment and rollover strategy.
He informed that the total debt repayment for FY25 stood at $26 billion, which includes $21.9 billion in principal repayments and $4.1 billion in interest payments. Out of the total, $16.2 billion was scheduled for rollover or repayment. An amount of $7 billion has already been repaid, while the remaining $3 billion repayment due till June 2025.
Commenting on recent surge in OMOs, the Governor informed that this was primarily due to an increase in currency in circulation, driven by seasonal factors(Ramadan and Eid) and elevated level of borrowing of government.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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