KARACHI: International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted the economic growth of Pakistan to be at 3.7 per cent for the upcoming fiscal year, ARY News reported.
The IMF has released a report giving details of first review under extended fund facility. The Fund noted that Pakistan has met all the performance criteria for the first programme review with the exception of that on net international reserves (NIR) by end September 2013.
The IMF has released the second tranche worth of $554 million under $6.64 billion extended fund facility programme after showing satisfaction on Pakistan’s economy.
The report noted that inflation is projected to hover around 10 per cent in the remainder of financial year 2013-14. The current account deficit is expected to be about 1 per cent of GDP, higher than the initial programme forecast by about 0.4 percent of GDP. Moreover, Imports are expected to grow by 8 per cent and exports are expected to grow more slowly. Gross reserves are projected to recover to $9.5 billion.
Overall, GDP is expected to expand by 2.8 per. As reforms in the energy sector take hold, the manufacturing sector is expected to expand faster than expected initially, although growth in the agriculture sector, in cotton production in particular, is projected to be slow.
Meanwhile, IMF has expressed satisfaction over current economic situation asking to do more to achieve structural reforms agenda amid security situation, with alarming terrorist activity, as well as sectarian violence and criminal activity which continue to depress investment and growth.
