By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan secured $5.6 billion in additional financing from bilateral and multilateral partners after getting a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the fund’s mission chief said on Friday.
The IMF approved the nine-month loan programme this week, ending months of uncertainty and boosting Pakistan’s foreign-exchange reserves ahead of elections this year.
The new financing includes $3.7 billion of commitments from countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, of which $3 billion has been disbursed, IMF mission chief Nathan Porter said in an email to Bloomberg News.
The IMF loan also reflects $400 million more than what would have been available under the previous programme, he said.
Pakistan received about $4.2 billion this week from the IMF and other sources, almost doubling its reserves, Bilal Kayani, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s coordinator on the economy, said on Twitter.
More inflows are expected from development partners including the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank in the coming weeks and months, he said.
The improved funding environment will ease pressure on Pakistan as it heads into elections later this year. Sharif has said he will hand over power to a caretaker government next month.
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