Islamabad, Nov 7: IMF Team to Arrive in Pakistan Next Week to Review Ongoing Program Before 2025 Evaluation
The Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter arriving in Pakistan next Monday November 11 to November 15 to discuss the progress of Pakistan in the EFF agreement.
It will help evaluate recent economic changes and Islamabad’s fulfillment of the obligations under the $7 billion credit, agreed upon in September.
Extensive discussions will take place with the finance minister, the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, and other key ministries including Energy.
Fiscal Revenue Budgeted in the FBR for the month of October 2024 was Rs.980 billion but it collected only Rs. 877 billion.
The overall collection of FBR in seven months of FY 2024-25 stood at Rs. 3,440 billion less than the assigned target by Rs. 196 billion only.
This revenue decline is expected to become an important topic during the talks while IMF representatives could propose changes.
At the end of first quarter Pakistan’s fiscal balance was Rs. 1696 billion, about 1.4% of GDP
The primary balance achieved was Rs. 3002 billion or 2.4% of GDP. From the economic point of view, for example the inflation indicator, has decreased from 38% in May 2023 to 7.2% in the late October 2024.
The government’s fiscal measures and its policies have resulted in better prospects in Pakistan stock exchange with improvement of foreign exchange reserves so towards slight economic steady growth.
Should Pakistan adhere to its initial objectives, sources suggest that the government might have to implement a mini budget to tackle shortfalls from the first quarter and expected deficits in the second quarter.
Alternatively, they could consider compensating tax targets by utilizing savings from reduced debt servicing expenses thanks to recent interest rate reductions.
