Pakistan hoping for $7bn IMF package approval in September: finance minister

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday the federal government is making good progress with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and hopes to get board approval in September for a new $7 billion loan programme.

The government and the IMF reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July. The IMF said the programme was subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners”.

“We are making good progress with IMF for Board approval in September,” Aurangzeb said in a text message to Reuters.

The government is in talks with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China to meet gross financing needs under the IMF programme, Aurangzeb had said in July following a trip to China to seek energy sector debt reprofiling.

Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped the country meet its external financing needs in the past.

The IMF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Pakistan’s external financing needs and the executive board’s meeting on the loan programme.

During an analyst briefing following the State Bank’s decision in July to cut rates by 100 basis points, the central bank chief said he expected rollovers of $16.3bn in the fiscal year to June 2025 — more than half of the country’s $26.2bn external financing requirement.