City
Epaper

Pak receives $1.39bn from IMF to cope with pandemic

By IANS | Updated: April 23, 2020 08:55 IST

Pakistan has received an emergency loan of $1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, pushing the countrys foreign currency reserves apparently to a one-month high above $12 billion, the media reported on Thursday.

Open in App

Islamabad, April 23 Pakistan has received an emergency loan of $1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, pushing the countrys foreign currency reserves apparently to a one-month high above $12 billion, the media reported on Thursday.

"SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) has received $1.39 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) from the IMF," the central bank said in a tweet on Wednesday.

The development, which was already expected, helped the Pakistani rupee to recover further ground against the US dollar, reports The Express Tribune.

Earlier, the foreign currency reserves had dropped to a four-month low at $10.97 billion on April 10, 2020, according to the SBP's weekly update last week.

The reserves had partly depleted due to capital pullout worth around $2.69 billion by short-term foreign investors from Pakistan's debt market over the past five to six weeks.

Many of them sold premature treasury bills and long-term Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) in panic following the pandemic.

Foreign debt repayments also consumed the foreign currency reserves in the past four months.

The IMF executive board approved the low-cost emergency loan last week to help Pakistan meet the urgent balance of payments (international payments) needs in the face of the pandemic, according to a recent IMF statement.

"While uncertainty remains high, the near-term economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to be significant, giving rise to large fiscal and external financing needs," it said.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: pakistanislamabadInternational Monetary FundState BankDhs punjab
Open in App

Related Stories

EntertainmentPakistani Actress Humaira Asghar Dies At 32, Decomposed Body Found in Karachi Home by Local Police

MaharashtraRaigad: Suspicious Pakistani Boat in Arabian Sea Turns Out to Be Buoy

OpinionsVicious Plot to Drown Nation in Drugs

EntertainmentPakistani Actor Mawra Hocane’s Instagram Visible in India Again Months After Ban

InternationalPakistan Tragedy: 18 Family Members, Including Children, Swept Away in Swat River; Video Emerges

International Realted Stories

InternationalEarthquake of magnitude 4.0 jolts Tajikistan

International"Hariyali Teej is the common culture between India and Nepal," says Nepal's envoy to India

InternationalMP CM's seven-day foreign tour concludes, to visit Rewa from Delhi tomorrow

InternationalTrump says 10 more Gaza hostages to be released "very shortly"

InternationalPakistan: Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz announces PKR 5 million aid for flood victims' families