IMF approves $450 million for Pakistan

In this file photo, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) building sign is viewed in Washington DC on April 5, 2016. (AFP)

• Concerns were raised recently about the future of the $6 billion bailout program
• IMF’s decision will restore foreign investors’ trust in Pakistan, analysts say

KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistani authorities, clearing the way for the country’s third bailout installment of $450 million.
“Completion of the review will enable disbursement of SDR 328 million (around $450 million),” Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, IMF mission chief for Pakistan, said in statement.
He added the agreement is subject to approval by the fund’s management, which is expected in early April.
IMF delegates were in Islamabad from Feb. 3 to Feb. 13 for their second quarterly review of Pakistan’s $6 billion bailout program.
When they left Pakistan without signing the staff-level agreement, concerns were raised about the future of the loan. Analysts say the staff-level agreement ends the uncertainty and investors’ trust is likely to return to Pakistan.
“Foreign investors who had backed off due to lack of clarity about the program review will now come back to the Pakistani market,” senior economist Muzamil Aslam told Arab News.
“The international lenders who had delayed lending will continue their programs for Pakistan. It will restore the confidence of international investors, because they give weightage to the IMF review,” he said.
Pakistan has so far secured $1.44 billion under the IMF loan program since July 2019.