KARACHI: Pakistan aims to raise up to $4 billion from Middle Eastern commercial banks by the next fiscal year, the country’s central bank chief told Reuters on Tuesday, as the country looks to plug external financing gaps.
In a wide-ranging interview, his first with any media organization since taking office in 2022, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad said Pakistan was also in the “advanced stages” of securing $2 billion in additional external financing required for International Monetary Fund approval of a $7 billion bailout program.
Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement on the loan program in July, subject to approval from the IMF’s executive board and it obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
Asked about monetary policy, Ahmad said recent interest rate cuts in Pakistan have had the desired effect, with inflation continuing to slow and the current account remaining under control, despite the cuts.
Pakistan’s annual consumer price index inflation was 11.1 percent in July, having fallen from highs of over 30 percent in 2023.
“The Monetary Policy Committee will review all these developments,” Ahmad said, adding that future rate decisions could not be pre-determined.
Pakistan’s central bank cut rates for two straight meetings from a historic high of 22 percent to 19.5 percent, and will meet again to review monetary policy on September 12.
“Now we have to focus on growth and other related areas because those are also equally important for job creation and other socioeconomic issues,” said Ahmad.
He added that the central bank’s mandate was to ensure price and financial stability before shifting its focus toward growth.
Pakistan eyes $4 billion from Middle Eastern banks to plug financing gap — central bank chief
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Pakistan eyes $4 billion from Middle Eastern banks to plug financing gap — central bank chief
- Ahmad says Pakistan in “advanced stages” of securing $2 billion in additional external financing required for IMF approval of $7 billion bailout
- Governor SBP says recent interest rate cuts had desired effect with inflation continuing to slow, current account remaining under control
Bangladesh approves new rice imports from Pakistan amid price pressures
- The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971
- Diplomatic ties between the two nations have improved since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina after mass protests last year
DHAKA: Bangladesh has approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of white rice from Pakistan under a government-to-government deal as part of efforts to stabilize domestic prices, officials said on Tuesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal at $395 per ton, reinforcing Dhaka’s renewed trade engagement with Islamabad.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have jumped by between 15 percent and 20 percent over the past year, with medium-quality rice selling at about 80 taka ($0.66) per kilogram. Despite increased imports and the removal of duties to ease supply constraints, prices for the staple grain remain stubbornly high.
The deal follows Bangladesh’s resumption of direct rice trade with Pakistan earlier this year for the first time since independence in 1971. In February, it imported 50,000 tons of rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton under a similar agreement.
Diplomatic ties between the two South Asian nations have improved since an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took office after mass protests forced then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighboring India last year.
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh gained independence after a nine-month war in 1971, and relations with Pakistan have remained fraught in the decades since the conflict.
Separately, the government approved another 50,000 tons of parboiled rice through an international tender, part of a series of recent purchases aimed at cooling local prices. India’s Pattabhi Agro Foods secured the contract with the lowest bid of $355.77 per ton.
