IMF executive board to hold sixth review of Pakistan economy today

ISLAMABAD: A session of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board for review of Pakistan’s economy has been scheduled in Washington on Wednesday, ARY News reported.

The Sixth Review and release of $1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), scheduled on January 12, 2022 and later January 28, was postponed twice earlier after receiving request from the Pakistani authorities.

The board will approve a $1 billion loan tranche for Pakistan if it finds that steps such as the passage of the mini-budget as well as a bill to grant more autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan are satisfactory.

“A report about implementation of the prior conditions has been sent to the IMF, under which subsidies and tax concessions of upto 343 billion rupees to various sectors have been withdrawn and passed a legislation that has awarded greater autonomy to the central bank,” the finance ministry officials said.

In November, a finance ministry delegation reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF team after protracted talks in Washington.