Resident chief confirms IMF will consider Pakistan loan review on Jan 11

ISLAMABAD: The IMF’s Resident Chief, Esther Perez Ruiz, on Saturday confirmed that the Fund’s Executive Board was scheduled to consider the first review under Pakistan’s current Standby Arrangement (SBA) on January 11, 2024.

“We are pleased to confirm that the IMF’s Executive Board Meeting is scheduled to consider the first review under Pakistan’s current Stand-By Arrangement on January 11, 2024,” Esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement issued on Saturday. 

Pakistan and the IMF held parleys in November 2023 and struck a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) for the completion of first review and release of the second tranche of $700 million after getting approval from the Fund’s Executive Board. Now the IMF has scheduled to hold the executive board meeting on January 11, 2024 to approve a $700 million tranche for Pakistan’s economy under the $3 billion SBA programme.

Pakistan had already secured the first installment of $1.2 billion during the tenure of PDM-led regime and now the second tranche of $700 million was expected to be disbursed during the caretaker government’s tenure.

It was hoped that the second review and third tranche of around $1.1 billion would be disbursed after the coming government following the general elections.

The IMF was supposed to hold the second review from February 3, 2023 but it seems that it might not be held on stipulated time keeping in view scheduled general elections to be held on February 8, 2024.

Therefore, the next review of IMF might be held by the end of February or early March 2024 after the new government comes into power. The existing SBA programme is scheduled to expire on April 12, 2024.

It is also clear that Pakistan will have to secure another medium-term programme of three years after completion of short-term nine-month SBA programme.