KARACHI : In essential support to stabilise the country’s teetering economy, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received approximately $1.03 billion (SDR 760 million) on Friday under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
Pakistan had been working on implementing conditions deemed “strict” to complete the loan programme agreed to in July, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif time and again hoped would be Pakistan’s last.
The IMF Executive Board approved a 37-month loan on Wednesday.
These fresh inflows will be reflected in the central bank’s liquid foreign exchange reserves figures, which will be released on Thursday, October 3, 2024, the SBP said in a statement. Following the long-awaited approval, the IMF said the new programme would require “sound policies and reforms” to strengthen macroeconomic stability and address structural challenges alongside “continued strong financial support from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners”. Though, the country’s economy has stabilised since it came close to defaulting last summer, it is dependent on IMF bailouts and loans from friendly countries to service its huge debt, which swallows up half of its annual revenues. “There will be transitional pain, but if we are to make it the last programme, then we have to carry out structural reforms,” Finance Minister an exclusive talk.