ISLAMABAD – Pakistan government is likely to approach International MoneyFund for a bailout package by the month end, sources have revealed.
The external financing requirements of $31 billion in FY19, Pakistan is“very likely to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme”, saysJohanna Chua, Citigroup’s Head of Emerging Markets Asia Economics &Strategy Bank in a report released on Monday. The report says an approachis likely by end September.
“The sheer size of Pakistan’s external financing gap and an experiencedlist of technocrats advising the government on economic issues will likelylead to the same conclusion” she says, going on to warn that “not going tothe IMF is a far more economically and politically painful/riskier optionthan otherwise.”
The report says the IMF “and other major stakeholders” should besupportive, adding that the Fund appears to be “very ready to engage thegovernment” and that the US “sees a stable Pakistan economy in its bestinterest geopolitically” while the Chinese and the Saudis “do not want tobe the ‘lenders of last resort”, a reference to speculation that abilateral bailout might be on the cards.
Read Top Stories
However, this time around, the support may come with strings attached, thereport says.
