By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s $3 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be reviewed by the lender’s Executive Board on July 12, Business Recorder newspaper reported on Wednesday, quoting an IMF confirmation email to the media.
The nine-month Standby Arrangement (SBA), equivalent to 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota, was finalised last week after the IMF and Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement on June 30.
Pakistan expects to receive the first tranche of $1.1 billion as part of the loan programme, which is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board.
The board’s approvals are usually granted once a staff-level agreement is done.
Pakistan was not on an earlier schedule released in June, raising doubts about the IMF’s willingness to release funds from a previous programme that expired on June 30.
The program aims to build up a buffer of foreign exchange reserves to cope with any external shocks to the economy. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen sharply in recent years due to a widening current account deficit and debt repayments.
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