IMF Likely To Take Up Pakistan's Request For Next $1.7b Tranche On Aug 29

The Finance Minister said that they recieved the Letter of Interest (LOI) copy and they would send it back to the IMF's executive board on Monday.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Aug 13th, 2022) Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board is likely to meet on August 29 for taking up Pakistan’s request to approve seventh and eighth reviews and release a tranche of $1.17 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

The Finance Minister said that they recieved the Letter of Interest (LOI) copy and they would send it back to the IMF's executive board on Monday.

The revival of the augmented $7 billion EFF programme will be considered by the IMF’s executive board in its meeting due on August 29, 2022 in Washington, DC.

The minister said that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was facing a difficult liquidity situation owing to increased liabilities and a hike in circular debt that got accumulated during the tenure of the PTI-led government

On other hand, Ministry of Finance's former adviser Dr Khaqan Najeeb said that the continuation of the IMF programme was “indeed necessary” for a country like Pakistan facing a balance of payment challenge and critically low reserves of $7.

8 billion to avoid further distress.

Dr Najeeb explained that the current programme with the IMF could help ride over the liquidity crunch, by ensuring external fund flows in the fiscal year 2022-23 along with an uptick in domestic revenues through higher taxes, help tame the quasi-fiscal losses in the energy sector through hurtful but necessary price pass-throughs.

The same situation took place in the gas sector whereby the monster of circular debt touched Rs1,500 billion mark.