Pakistan to Finalize IMF Loan Details before year end

October 19, 2018: Pakistan expects to finalize details of an IMF bailout program before year end, reports Bloomberg.

A spokesman for Pakistan's finance ministry was quoted saying that the Government was trying to arrange some inflows to shore up reserves as it cannot allow the foreign currency reserves to decline further below $8 billion level.

Finance Minister Asad Umar announced this month that Pakistan will seek its thirteenth IMF bailout since the late 1980s after the country’s reserves plunged and as current-account and budget deficits continue to widen.

As per the reports, less than 1 percent of the nation’s more than 200 million people file tax returns and its exports including textiles, which lags the region.

According to IMF, recent government efforts have been insufficient to tackle the looming crisis, therefore conditions to any program are likely to be onerous.

The U.S. has warned to make sure that the loan from IMF isn’t used to pay off Chinese debts worth billions of dollars.