ISLAMABAD
\nThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that talks are underway with Pakistan for the 9th review of the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
\nIMF spokesperson told Bloomberg that the loan program with Pakistan to continue and so far they have not received any signal from Pakistan about suspending the program. \u201cIMF is seeking assurance from Pakistan for implementation of economic policy.\u201d The IMF spokesperson further said that Pakistan signed a three-year loan agreement with the fund in 2019, which will end in June 2023.
\nPakistan has assured not to introduce a fuel subsidy scheme in the current ongoing fiscal year of 2022-23, the IMF official told Bloomberg. The International Monetary Fund official denied commenting on the arrest of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan.
\nFollowing the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, concerns sparked that Pakistan was edging closer to a default as political unrest will delay an IMF bailout. \u201cIt looks increasingly difficult for Pakistan to avoid a default in the absence of fresh funding support coming in,\u201d said Eng Tat Low, an emerging-market sovereign analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments in Singapore.
\n\u201cI am also growing more skeptical whether an IMF deal is going to come through. Their heavy debt amortisation against precarious reserves would suggest default is imminent,\u201d he added. It is pertinent to mention here that the IMF issued the schedule of board meetings in which Pakistan is not included in any agenda until May 17.
\nOn Tuesday, Moody\u2019s Investor Service warned that Pakistan could default without an International Monetary Fund bailout as its financing options beyond June are uncertain. According to the Bloomberg report, Grace Lim, a sovereign analyst with the ratings company in Singapore, said that Pakistan\u2019s financing options beyond June are highly uncertain and South Asian country can \u201cdefault\u201d given its very weak reserves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that talks are underway with Pakistan for the 9th review of the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF). IMF spokesperson told Bloomberg that the loan program with Pakistan to continue and so far they have not received any signal from Pakistan about suspending the program. \u201cIMF is seeking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-330637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n