KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday announced that it had received United States Dollar (USD) 1.39 billion from International Monetary Fund (IMF), ARY NEWS reported.
In a message posted on its Twitter account, the SBP said that the amount was received from the IMF under Rapid Financing Instrument.
#SBP has received $1.39 bn under Rapid Financing Instrument by the #IMF.
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) April 22, 2020
On April 17, the IMF had approved disbursement of $1.386 billion for Pakistan under the Rapid Financing Instrument to address the economic impact of the Covid-19.
A statement issued after a meeting of the Fund’s Executive Board said: “As the impact of the Covid-19 shock subsidies, the authorities’ renewed commitment to implement the policies in the existing EFF will help support the recovery and strengthen resilience.”
It is pertinent to mention here that on April 18, the IMF clarified the disbursement of $1.4 billion to Pakistan to address the economic impact of the coronavirus is “additional” to the existing $6 billion programme.
“The $1.4 billion RFI [Rapid Financial Instrument] disbursement is additional to the $6 billion EFF [Extended Fund Facility] to help Pakistan’s immediate efforts to COVID-19,” the Fund said in a tweet.
“The EFF remains in place. Staff & authorities continue to work closely to bring the second review to the IMF Board as soon as possible,” it added.
