IMF revises Pak’s foreign loan requirement to USD 25 bn: Report

financialexpress.com:

The IMF has revised down Pakistan’s foreign loan requirements to USD 25 billion for the ongoing fiscal year — reducing it by USD 3.4 billion in a big relief for its cash-starved economy, according to a media report on Saturday.The Washington-based global lender also lowered the economic growth projection to just 2 per cent, turning down the government’s external as well as macroeconomic forecasts, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The International Monetary Fund’s delegation wrapped two-week-long talks with Pakistani officials on November 15 and announced that a staff-level agreement has been reached to enable it to release USD 700 million in the second tranche of an already agreed USD 3 billion loan.The report said that in comparison with July this year, the IMF lowered the foreign loan requirements for this fiscal year from USD 28.4 billion to USD 25 billion.In four months, the government has already borrowed USD 6 billion while it expects rollovers of USD 12.5 billion.The remaining needs are about USD 6.5 billion in addition to the efforts for timely securing the USD 12.5 billion debt rollovers, said the sources.

Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal on Thursday said the interim government was comfortable that it would secure the needed financing to remain afloat. However, there will not be much respite for the government as the estimated available financing has also been cut by USD 3.7 billion because of the problems in acquiring loans through floating Eurobonds and from foreign commercial banks.The sources said that the IMF did not agree to Pakistan’s projection of USD 4 billion to USD 4.5 billion current account deficit during this fiscal year against the earlier projected figure of USD 6.5 billion.They added