Tag International Monetary Fund

Pakistan has implemented the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) by publishing critical data through the National Summary Data Page (NSDP), a press release by the IMF said.

The e-GDDS was established by the IMF in 2015 to support improved data transparency, encourage statistical development, and help create synergies between data dissemination and surveillance. The NSDP is a national ‘data portal’ that serves as a one-stop publication vehicle for essential macroeconomic data on national accounts, government operations and debt, monetary and financial sector, and balance of payments, among others.

The NSDP is hosted by Pakistan’s Bureau of Statistics, utilising the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange. A link to the country’s NSDP is available on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board. The NSDP contains links to statistics published by the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and the State Bank of Pakistan.

Publication of essential macroeconomic data through the NSDP will provide national policy-makers and domestic and international stakeholders, including investors and rating agencies, with easy access to information critical for monitoring economic conditions and policies. Making this information easily accessible in both human and machine-readable formats will allow users to have simultaneous access to timely data and bring greater data transparency, the press release stated.

Louis Marc Ducharme, Chief Statistician and Data Officer, and Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, welcomed this major milestone in the country’s statistical development. “I am confident that Pakistan will benefit from using the e-GDDS as a framework for further development of its statistical system.”

KARACHI:(Net News/ Media 92 News) The US dollar gained against the Pakistani rupee in the interbank and open market on Thursday.

In the interbank, the dollar gained Rs0.42 and was trading at Rs132.45. The open market saw the dollar gain Rs0.35 to trade at Rs131.75.

Yesterday, the dollar lost ground to the rupee by Rs1.89 in the interbank and Rs2.40 in the open market.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its bullish trajectory, propelled by renewed investor confidence after Saudi Arabia pledged to provide Islamabad with $6 billion in financial assistance.

The benchmark KSE-100 index gained another 763 points to push the index above 40,000 points. It was trading at around 40,040 points as of 11am.

The last instance when the PSX was trading above 40,000 points was on October 4, 2018, before Pakistan formally approached the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package.

KARACHI:(Net News/ Media 92 News) The Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its bullish trajectory on Thursday, propelled by renewed investor confidence after Saudi Arabia pledged to provide Islamabad with $6 billion in financial assistance.

The benchmark KSE-100 index gained another 763 points to push the index above 40,000 points. It was trading at around 40,040 points as of 11am.

The last instance when the PSX was trading above 40,000 points was on October 4, 2018, before Pakistan formally approached the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package.

On Wednesday, the KSE-100 index gained 1,556 points or 4.13 percent to push the index to 39,271 points at the close of trading. This was only the second time in history that the index rose by more than 1,550 points in a single day. The last time the market witnessed such gains was on June 5, 2017, when the benchmark index recorded a rise of 1,566 points at closing.

The gains followed a string of losses on the bourse after mixed signals from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government on plans to address the country’s deteriorating finances.

On Tuesday, the government struck a 12-month deal for a balance of payments lifeline during a visit to Saudi Arabia, which will deposit $3 billion with Pakistan’s central bank and provide a matching one-year deferred payment facility for oil imports.

The relief package will likely lessen the amount of funds the country will need to secure from the IMF, analysts said.

WASHINGTON:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Pakistan’s defense expenditure is not the big elephant anymore, it is the payment of debt amounting up to Rs1,500 billion that is the country’s major challenge, said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Adviser on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain.

While speaking at the Pakistan Policy Symposium on Thursday Husain said, defense expenditures takes up only three per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

“[Total] Rs1,500 billion out of Rs4,500 billion we collect, goes on debt servicing cost, which is the big elephant,” he said. “That can only be tackled if we reduce our borrowing, both external and internal.”

He added, “We decided to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as our financial gap is wide.”

The public interest would be considered during talks with IMF, after which the World Bank and other international institutes would also come forward to help Pakistan, the economist said.

Speaking about the electricity crisis plaguing the country, the economist said it was under control, but the country was facing issues because of some distribution companies.

“The problem is in the distribution companies. Out of the nine companies, four are causing 75 per cent of the losses.”

Husain continued, “All the deficit which is being accumulated in circular debt is originating from these four companies.”

He added, “So they have to find specific solutions either to privatise those to give them to management contracts or bring about new managers.”

Moreover, Dr Husain said, a decision has been taken to reform the Federal Board of Revenue on technical grounds so that the money collected in taxes can be increased and those defaulting on payment can be identified.

“In Pakistan, only 3.5 million people pay taxes out of 12 million. We have to increase the Tax to GDP ration,” he added.

KARACHI: Fluctuations in the US dollar against the rupee continued as the market opened on Monday.

The greenback increased by Rs1.60 and was being traded at Rs133.50 after closing at Rs131.90on Friday.

Following a steep increase in the greenback’s price last week, the rupee made a recovery against the dollar in the interbank market on Friday as it was trading at Rs132.40 in the interbank, down Rs1.40 and closed at Rs131.90, down by Rs1.87.

The US dollar had gained by over Rs6.50 to touch a new high in the open market, while in the interbank market it had risen by Rs9 to reach Rs133.64 on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) also shed 476 points as the market opened today and stood at 37,041 points.

Last week, the government approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with the prevalent financial crisis. The international lender has asked Pakistan to disclose its debts with “absolute transparency” to receive a bailout package.

If a package is agreed, it would be Pakistan’s 13th IMF bailout since 1988. The Fund lent Islamabad $6.7 billion in 2013.

SUKKUR: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Khursheed Shah on Wednesday said the stock market has been collapsing since former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s ouster.

Addressing a ceremony in Sukkur, the PPP leader said, “The stock market has been in decline since Nawaz’s ouster.”

“There has been a loss of billions in the last two months and people have gone bankrupt,” he said while adding that “there is a dangerous level of pressure on the economy.”

Taking a hit at the government approaching IMF despite earlier claims, Shah said, “Imran used to say that he would rather commit suicide than approach IMF and today people are laughing at his non-serious statements.”

He further said, “70 per cent of PM Imran’s team is made up of Musharraf’s cabinet members. A party considered dangerous for the country has been given ministries but if Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is not part of the alliance then the government will collapse.”

Shah further said, “We can see Parliament’s supremacy diminishing.”

“I have not seen such an election in the last 30 years. All institutions should work within their limits and PPP wants to see institutions working,” the PPP leader continued.

ISLAMABAD:( Media-92)Finance Minister Asad Umar on Friday said Pakistan’s economy is in a critical phase but will soon be back on track.

“The economy is currently undergoing heart bypass surgery and after it is successfully completed, the economy will be back on track and running,” the finance minister said while addressing an Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) event.

Regarding ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Umar said, “They are part of routine.”

“There is no plan to seek a bailout just yet,” he added.

“However, if we need to approach IMF for a bailout then the talks that are taking place right now will be form the basis for it,” Umar further said.

An IMF mission is currently on a week-long visit to the country and the first day of talks between Pakistani officials and the delegation concluded in Islamabad on Thursday.

The finance secretary led Pakistani side during the talks in Islamabad, while country director Herald Finger headed the IMF delegation.

Sources said that Thursday’s talks were post-programme and staff-level, and added that similar rounds of talks were held in Washington during the caretaker government’s tenure.

Stating that the talks will continue for a week, the sources added that Thursday’s meeting reviewed the challenges facing Pakistan.

Dollar had climbed up to Rs130 in the past week, largely due to political uncertainty ahead of the July 25 polls. Photo: File
KARACHI: The US dollar fell by Rs4 in the open market to reach Rs124, the Currency Exchange Association said Saturday.

End of political uncertainty following elections was attributed as the main factor in the significant drop in the greenback’s price, which had soared as high as Rs130 in the past week.

According to the association, the dollar price dipped due to a sufficient supply of the foreign currency in the local market.

Dollar surges to new high of Rs130 in open market

The country’s economic fundamentals had deteriorated ahead of the July 25 general election. Since December, the rupee has cumulatively shed over 21% of its value after the State Bank of Pakistan reportedly abstained from intervening in response to the pressure exerted by a widening current account deficit.

Most financial analysts expect the incoming government to seek a post-election bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Pakistan’s current account balance has widened sharply, while foreign currency reserves have plummeted over the past few years.