$6 billion package from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan takes final decision over IMF bailout
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*ISLAMABAD - Will Pakistan still go for IMF bailout package after Saudi offer of $6 billion?*
*Pakistan still plans to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite a Saudi Arabian offer of a $6 billion rescue package, Pakistan’s finance ministry said on Wednesday.*
“Yes, we are going ahead into program negotiations with (IMF) in the first week of November,” Noor Ahmed, spokesman for the ministry, told Reuters in a text message.
On Tuesday, Pakistan announced Saudi Arabia had agreed to give Pakistan $3 billion in foreign currency support for a year and a further loan worth up to $3 billion in deferred payments for oil imports to help stave off a current account crisis.
Pakistan’s main stock market index shot up 3.3 percent in early trading on the news of the Saudi help.
