IMF And World Bank

The World Bank is set to approve a USD 20 billion indicative lending package for Pakistan a pioneering 10-year initiative to protect its funded projects from political transitions and focus on six targeted areas, according to a media report. The programme, titled "Pakistan Country Partnership Framework 2025-35", aims to improve social indicators in the most neglected but important areas, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing official documents. It will focus on reducing child stunting, combating learning poverty, enhancing climate resilience, decarbonising the environment, expanding fiscal space, and boosting private investment to improve productivity. These areas have broad support across the political spectrum and are expected to remain unaffected by government changes during the 2025-2035 period, which is anticipated to include at least three general elections. This 'Country Partnership Framework' is scheduled to be approved by the World Bank board on January 14, ...

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday announced that Sri Lanka has achieved flexibility with the IMF on its rigid state revenue tax regime, something that was part of his election promise. Also, import of private cars -- banned from 2020 -- would be allowed from February 2025, Dissanayake, who is also the Minister of Finance, told the parliament. Speaking about the agreements reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during its third review of the USD 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the president said his government has been able to raise the tax threshold. We have been able to raise the tax threshold of pay as you earn (PAYE tax) so that those who have bigger incomes pay more while those who earn pay less, Dissanayake said, adding there would be other VAT exemptions and withholding tax on interest incomes for the retired. An income of Rs 1,50,000 per month will be tax free, Dissanayake said referring to the current free amount upto only Rs 1,00,000. F

World Bank made the announcement today in Seoul at a pledging conference for the International Development Association, which provides grants and very low-interest loans to 78 low-income countries

With almost USD 29 billion in loans, China continued to be Pakistan's largest bilateral creditor while Saudi Arabia emerged as the second largest bilateral lender with about USD 9.16 billion, a World Bank report has said. However, China's share in Pakistan's total external debt went down to 22 per cent compared to 25 per cent in 2023 with Saudi Arabia increasing its share from 2 per cent in 2023 to 7 per cent in 2024. The World Bank's International Debt Report 2024 released on Tuesday ranks Pakistan among the top three loan recipients from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year and also notes that Pakistan's high debt-to-export and debt-to-revenue ratios indicate a weakening fiscal position. The International Debt Report 2024 put Pakistan's total external debt (including that from IMF) at USD 130.85 billion in 2023, accounting for 352 per cent of its total exports and 39 per cent of gross national income (GNI) while Pakistan's total external debt servicing amounted to 43 p

Sri Lanka's new government on Tuesday announced that it has ratified the agreement for debt restructuring sealed in the previous regime for USD 14.2 billion compulsory to maintain debt sustainability by the IMF through an exchange of new bonds for the existing bonds. The development comes days after the National People's Power (NPP) government on Saturday got the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approval for a staff-level agreement to secure the fourth tranche of the nearly USD 3 billion bailout package, something that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake backed despite his pre-presidential election rhetoric to renegotiate with the global lender to water down tough conditions. The debt restructuring agreement was reached in the last week of the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe's regime in September, days before the presidential polls. A final consensus on restructuring debt by the members of the Official Credit Committee (OCC) of major bilateral creditors in June 2024. In ...

Sources in the finance ministry said the Nov 11-15 visit will discuss recent developments and program performance to date, adding the mission was not part of the first review

Financial markets are seeing a return of "Trump trades" in assets from stocks to bitcoin to the Mexican peso that bet in favor of a Trump victory as his poll numbers have improved

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings are scheduled to draw more than 10,000 people from finance ministries, central banks and civil society groups

The IMF's latest Fiscal Monitor report showed global public debt will reach 93 per cent of global gross domestic product by the end of 2024 and approach 100 per cent by 2030.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, on Monday committed USD 105 million (about Rs 870 crore) to Brookfield's Bikaner Solar Power project through long-term non-convertible debentures. These debentures have been allocated to the project's special purpose vehicles, IFC said in a statement. The 550 MW solar power project in Bikaner, Rajasthan, will help boost India's renewable energy capacity and support climate goals, IFC said in a statement. Following its commitment, Brookfield will provide solar power to commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers across India at more competitive tariffs through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and contribute to the nation's decarbonisation goals, it said. This is IFC's first investment in Asia and the Pacific using an innovative hybrid offtake structure where the project sells the power generated to C&I consumers under long-term corporate PPAs and merchant market via ...

The International Monetary Fund has approved an immediate disbursal of USD 1.1 billion to Pakistan as part of a bailout package and said the country needs to take tough measures to bring its economy back on track. A decision in this regard was taken by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board as it completed the second and final review of Pakistan's economic reform programme supported by the IMF's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). With this development, the disbursements under the SBA reached around USD 3 billion. IMF's Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said, "Given the significant challenges ahead, Pakistan should capitalize on this hard-won stability, persevering -- beyond the current arrangement -- with sound macroeconomic policies and structural reforms to create stronger, inclusive, and sustainable growth." Continued external support will also be critical, she said. Achieving strong, long-term inclusive growth and creating jobs require accelerating structural .

The annual World Bank and IMF meetings have wrapped up without a concrete plan to mobilise the trillions of dollars needed to fight climate change, in a year where agreement on New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) or a new climate finance goal will be the key issue at the United Nations climate conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan. NCQG is the new amount developed countries must mobilise every year from 2025 onwards to support climate action in developing countries. Rich countries are expected to raise more than the USD 100 billion they promised to provide every year from 2020, but repeatedly failed. A recent analysis revealed that financial flows into developing countries turned negative in 2023, with these nations paying out more in debt servicing than they received in external financing. Discussions between G7 and G20 finance ministers on the sidelines of the spring meetings that wrapped up on Saturday touched on providing finance to developing countries for meeting climate and ...

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Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 17.20 billion at the end of December 2023, falling short of the relaxed target of a minimum of USD 17.78 billion set by the IMF, according to media reports here on Wednesday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a USD 4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh in January last year and fixed a minimum Forex Reserve, also called the Net International Reserve (NIR) of USD 26.81 billion by December 2023 end. However, that target was later relaxed to USD 17.78 billion, USD 19.27 billion for March and USD 20.11 billion for June, The Daily Star newspaper reported quoting the IMF document. We set a target to keep an NIR of more than USD 17 billion till December 31 and we fulfilled the goal because the NIR stood at USD 17.20 billion on Sunday (December 31), the daily quoted Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque as saying. Our net reserve is close to the IMF target and this is not mandatory to fulfill the goal,

In September, SBI said that it plans to make home loans with rooftop solar installations mandatory for residential projects funded from the bank's long-term climate action funds

Sri Lanka and the IMF have reached a crucial staff-level agreement to release the second tranche of about USD 330 million out of the USD 2.9 billion bailout package which will help in the cash-strapped country's economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund in March this year approved a 48-month, USD 2.9 billion extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to support Sri Lanka's economic policies and reforms. The IMF mission that visited Sri Lanka for the first review of the global lender-supported Extended Fund Facility programme for the country noted that despite early signs of stabilisation, full economic recovery is not yet assured. "Sri Lanka will have access to SDR 254 million (about US$330 million) in financing once the review is approved by IMF Management and IMF Executive Board," the IMF said in a release on Thursday. The release of the second tranche at the conclusion of the first review of the facility approved in March is subject to approval by the I

Woochong Um in a virtual interview said that they need to double, triple and quadruple what they can do and bring in private capital

People across Pakistan have been protesting against the rise in electricity prices for the past few days

Pakistan has received the nod for funding to the tune of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia

The IMF currently forecasts global growth will be 2.7% next year, slowing from 3.2% this year