SBP Pays 24th Instalment Of IMF’s SBA Facility Of $396m

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) paid 24th instalment under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) facility amounting to $396 million, said SBP spokesperson on Tuesday.

The spokesman said with the repayment of current instalment, Pakistan to-date has repaid IMF $6,045 million since July 2011, of which $5,256 million was under SBA facility. The economists have concerns over the economic situation as the country has to pay a huge amount with no expectations of major inflows, while the country’s foreign exchange reserves were continuously declining.

The dollar has touched Rs 109.15 in the open currency market, while Rs 108 in the interbank market. During the month the dollar rose by Rs 2 in the month of November only. The previous government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has taken help from the IMF to maintain the country’s reserves, which were at that time at $17 billion but now the reserves have been reduced to $10 billion, including Rs 4.29 billion of SBP and $5.19 billion of other banks of the country.

Pakistan got the IMF programme to maintain its reserves and avoid possible default,” the analyst said. However the programme itself seems to have failed as the reserves are gradually declining due to a massive repayment of this loan, the analyst said. -Dailytimes