Two days after the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revived Pakistan’s bailout programme, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received proceeds of USD 1.16 billion (equivalent of SDR 894 million) from the global lender.
The IMF said that Pakistan’s economy will grow to around 3.5% but the average inflation rate is estimated at 19.9% — the projections that had been made before the floods destroyed vast swathes of the country.
The global lender also approved an increase in the loan size to $6.5 billion and extended its expiry date till June 2023. The $6 billion original programme was going to end next month with half of the amount undisbursed due to failure of the PTI government to fulfil its commitments.
