IMF agrees US$3bn bailout with Pakistan
The International Monetary Fund's board approved a US$3 billion bailout programme for Pakistan on Wednesday, the lender said, which will immediately disburse about US$1.2 billion to help the South Asian country. Pakistan and the Fund reached a staff level agreement last month, securing much-needed funding for the cash-starved nation. The board's approval was needed before disbursing the first tranche of money, with the rest to arrive later in instalments. "The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan for an amount of SDR2,250 million (about US$3 billion, or 111 percent of quota) to support the authorities’ economic stabilisation program," the IMF said in a statement. It added the arrangement comes at a challenging economic juncture for Pakistan. A difficult external environment, devastating floods and policy missteps have led to large fiscal and external deficits, rising inflation and eroded reserve buffers in FY23. (Reuters)