Pakistan has unlocked another $5.6 billion in financing after securing a $1.2 billion deposit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reported Bloomberg.
In an emailed response to Bloomberg, IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter said that the additional funds include $3.7 billion in commitments from bilateral partners such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with $3 billion already disbursed.
He said that the latest IMF deposit in the State Bank of Pakistan is $400 million higher than what would have been possible through the previous program.
Added to the above, more inflows are expected in the coming weeks and months from multilateral partners including the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Islamic Development Bank, said Prime Minister’s Economic Coordinator Bilal Kayani in a tweet.
FM @MIshaqDar50 has just announced that US$1.2 billion have been received from the IMF in @StateBank_Pak, following the approval of the US$3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) by the IMF Executive Board yesterday. The remaining amount ($1.8 billion) will be phased over the…
— Bilal Azhar Kayani (@BilalAKayani) July 13, 2023
Pakistan will also get a further $1.8 billion from IMF, subject to two reviews under its $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The central bank has already received the first tranche of $1.2 billion earlier this week.
The IMF tranche, along with previous disbursements of $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates and $2 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will raise the SBP foreign exchange reserves in excess of $8.5 billion. The new forex level is expected to be reflected in next week’s central bank market update.
