Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund to resume its loan program, according to a government official familiar with the matter.
A $1.2 billion disbursement is expected in August after the IMF’s management gives final approval, the person said, asking not to be identified before a formal announcement.
Representatives for the IMF in Pakistan and the nation’s finance ministry didn’t reply to emails seeking comment.The disbursal would offer relief to the South Asian nation, whose foreign-exchange reserves can cover less than two months of imports. Inflation has accelerated to a 13-year-high. Pakistan has raised electricity tariffs and almost doubled diesel pump prices over the past two months to meet IMF conditions.
The Washington-based lender has also agreed to increase the loan program size by $1 billion taking it to a total $7 billion — and extend it through June 2023, the person said.
Profit Magazine had previously reported the details.
-Bloomberg