Summary Sharp increase in Pakistan’s foreign reserves in one week
KARACHI (Dunya News) – State Bank has released a report on Thursday citing sharp increase in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves in one week. Foreign exchange reserves witnessed increase in $220 million, reported Dunya News.
According to the State Bank, Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves have reached a total of $20 billion and 270 million.
The report tells that out of total reserves $15 billion and 430 million are in the central bank and $4 billion and 840 million are deposited in the commercial banks.
Also see: IMF approves $497 mn tranche for Pakistan, Dar says privatisation remains top priority
Economic reforms including privatisation remain a top priority of Pakistan’s government and it plans to make up delays in selling off state firms in the energy sector, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday.
Dar was speaking at a news conference in Dubai after the International Monetary Fund said it had agreed to release a $497 million tranche for Pakistan after the latest review of a bailout package awarded in 2013, leaving a further $1.1 billion left to be released.Earlier today, Announcing that its team in Dubai had agreed that the tranche should be disbursed, subject to approval by the Fund’s executive board, the IMF lamented Pakistan’s slow progress in some areas.
"While many structural benchmarks have been met, measures pertaining to the energy sector reform and restructuring of loss-making public enterprises are yet to be implemented," the IMF said in a statement.
The IMF loan had helped Pakistan stave off a default in 2013, when dwindling foreign exchange reserves covered less than six weeks of imports. Pakistan’s reserves have since swelled to $20.5 billion in January from $11 billion in mid-2013.
