World Bank, IMF dash Pakistan's hope to get loans anytime soon
Business
The IMF executive board issued schedule of its meetings to be held on May 17 on its website
(Web Desk) – Pakistan is not on the agenda of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) meetings as a result of which the ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be delayed.
Moreover, the World Bank also put a damper on efforts to get foreign loan by linking its second RISE-II (Resilient Institution for Sustainable Economy) loan with the completion of the stalled IMF programme.
The IMF executive board issued schedule of its meetings to be held till May 17 on its website. The next meetings are scheduled for May 11, 15, and then again on May 17, 2023.
According to the IMF Staff report “Pakistan: Seventh and Eighth Reviews of the extended arrangement”, the deadline for the ninth review was November 3, 2022, but was delayed due to the failure of the government to implement agreed time-bound conditions and structural benchmarks, as well as, violation of the spirit of the agreed seventh and eighth review, particularly with respect to controlling the rupee rate artificially without the necessary reserves to intervene in the market and extending unfunded electricity subsidy to exporters.
The tenth review’s schedule as per the seventh/eighth review documents was February 3, 2023, but the ninth review is yet to be completed.
According to insiders, the IMF was working with the Pakistani authorities to bring the ninth review to a conclusion once the necessary financing was in place and the agreement is finalised.
World Bank
The World Bank’s second RISE-II loan is worth $450 million. However, the bank’s condition for approval of its loan has compounded the PDM government’s problems.
The Pakistan government was eyeing a total $700 million loan as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was to provide $250 million. But the World Bank dashed the incumbent PDM government’s hopes.
