Pakistan receives second tranche of $554 from IMF

KARACHI: International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released the second tranche of $554 million of $6.7 billion bailout to Pakistan, ARY News reported.

The Washington-based lender had approved the extended fund facility (EFF) in September to help the country achieve economic reforms, particularly in its troubled energy sector.

The IMF made an initial payment of $540 million, and in November fund officials said during a monitoring visit that Pakistan was “broadly on track” with reforms.

“Pakistan received the second tranche from IMF under the ongoing EFF on December 23,” a spokesperson for the State Bank of Pakistan (central bank) said in a statement.

The release of the installment will also bolster the bank’s declining foreign exchange reserves.
Cash-strapped Pakistan, plagued by a bloody homegrown Taliban insurgency, is battling to get its shaky economy back on track and solve a chronic energy crisis that cripples industry.