This week, Pakistan is expected to receive an additional $4 billion in funding from friendly nations. Dr. Murtaza Syed, the acting governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), stated that this sum will open the door for the restart of the IMF programme.
Following the IMF’s announcement that it will convene the board meeting to approve Pakistan’s request for the resumption of the programme once it had obtained guarantees for the $4 billion loan, the governor and the finance minister made their statements.
According to a senior government source, Saudi Arabia is the first nation to have committed to the IMF.
Read more: Pakistani Rupee starts showing signs of life
The pledges are now anticipated to put an end to market uncertainty and give the government and central bank a strong foundation on which to handle the current issue. According to Dr. Syed, the executive directors of the countries that made pledges to help now need to pick up the phone and tell Pakistan’s mission chief that they are prepared to donate a specific sum for a year.
Such a considerable rupee appreciation against dollar is welcoming…..hope it's real & Govt. isn't artificially trying to appreciate rupee, otherwise it would severely impact our exports….#DollarvsRupee
— Junaid Khawar (@jjkhawar) August 4, 2022
The rupee finished at Rs239.37 on the final trading day of July, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan, making it the second worst month for the national currency since Pakistan’s establishment. The rupee began to strengthen in August, and as of the most recent SBP data, it is currently trading at 226.15 rupees to the dollar.
The acting governor stated that the IMF would call the board meeting in two weeks whenever Pakistan is able to demonstrate the available finance. He stated that the Letter of Intent between Pakistan and the IMF has been approved and will be signed once the finance assurances are formalised.
Read more: Closing the financial gap with $4 billion from friendly countries
At the board meeting, it will be decided to increase the total programme amount to $7 billion and extend the program’s duration until June of the following year. As of July 29, 2022, Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves stood at US$ 14.21 billion.