IMF board approves Pakistan’s first review allowing release of $700m

ISLAMABAD  –  The Executive Board of the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday approved a $700 million loan tranche for Pakistan as it com­pleted the 1st review of Pakistan’s economic reform program sup­ported by IMF’s Stand-By Arrange­ment (SBA).

The Board’s approval allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR 528 million (around US$ 700 mil­lion) bringing the total disburse­ments under the SBA to US$ 1.9 bil­lion. The IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities had reached a staff-level agreement on November 15, on the first review under the Pakistan’s SBA, subject to approval by the IMF’s Ex­ecutive Board.

A statement from the Finance Min­istry said the completion of the first review by the IMF’s Executive Board and the payment of 528 million in special drawing rights brought the total disbursements under the SBA to $1.9 billion.

After the staff level agreement with the IMF, Pakistan had started increasing inflows from international financial institutions. In the last two weeks, the country has received $1.2 billion from international lenders. The inflows have helped in increas­ing the country’s foreign exchange reserves to $13.220 billion as of 29-Dec-2023. The break-up of the for­eign reserves position showed that foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan are $8.221 billion and foreign reserves held by com­mercial banks are $4.999 billion.

The World Bank and Asian De­velopment Bank have recently an­nounced loans for Pakistan. The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $350 million in financing for the Second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) Operation, which aims to strengthen fiscal management and pro­mote competitiveness for sustained and inclu­sive economic growth. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank had approved $250 million for the Second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) development policy financing. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) had recent­ly approved three projects totalling $658.8 million to help Pakistan achieve its goal of more inclusive and sustainable growth and development.