UAE rolls over $2 billion deposits to Pakistan for another year
Business
Earlier in the day, Pakistan also received $700 million loan tranche from IMF
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed rollover of its two deposits of $1 billion each placed with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for another one year, which were maturing in January 2024.
The central bank announced it in a statement shared on social media platform X.
The development comes shortly after Pakistan received $700 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The loan was approved after the IMF Executive Board completed its first review last week, bringing the total disbursements under the $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) to about $1.9 billion, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed confirmed Wednesday.
After the board’s approval last week, Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director and Chair, said there were now tentative signs of activity picking-up and external pressures easing.
In effort to secure the bailout, Pakistan had implemented tough IMF-requested measures: a revamped budget, a record interest rate hike, and painful increases in electricity and gas prices.
The IMF also got Pakistan to raise $1.34 billion in new taxation to meet fiscal adjustments and the measures fuelled all-time high inflation of 38 per cent year-on-year in May, which is still hovering above 30 per cent.
