Islamabad May 29 2023: Pakistan is not going to club ninth and tenth review of International Monetary Fund (IMF) current program and expected to resume program along with the budget.
“We are not going to club ninth and tenth review of IMF program. Our focus is to complete the ninth review of the program which is likely to be completed beside the budget. We expect Staff Level Agreement (SLA) in a weeks time” says Pakistan Finance Minsiter Muhammad Ishaq Dar while talking to a local TV channel.
“Completion of the program would unlock USD 700 millon from Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and USD 450 million from Asian Development Bank for fiscal assistance. Besides IMF would release SDR 894 million (USD 1.19 billion) on completion of ninth review” minister added.
“We have completed all the prerequisite required for completion of ninth review. However, the fund has asked for details of upcoming budget and external flows which we are in process of sharing with them” he said.
“Rupee is 14% undervalued at these levels as evident from Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) and its price is somewhere from 240 to 249 under current circumstances. Improvement in political and external financing position is likely to bring the value of rupee to these levels” he said.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Nathan Porter visited Islamabad during January 31 – February 9 to hold discussions under the ninth review of the authorities’ program supported by the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement but ended without reaching Staff Level Agreement.
The EFF was approved by the Executive Board on July 3, 2019 for SDR 4,268 million (about US$6 billion at the time of approval, or 210 percent of quota). In order to support program implementation and meet the higher financing needs in FY23, as well as catalyze additional financing, the IMF Board approved an extension of the EFF until end-June 2023, rephasing and augmentation of access by SDR 720 million that will bring the total access under the EFF to about US$6.5 billion.
