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IMF frustrated over govt’s failure to notify revised gas price

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1 year ago

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  • IMF has directed govt to review gas tariff prices biannually.
  • PDM govt delayed gas hike due to political reasons, IMF told. 
  • IMF also questions Ogra on why gas tariffs were not notified. 

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed its frustration over the government’s decision to not notify the revised gas price every six months – July 1 and January 1 – in a financial year, reported The News on Wednesday.

The Fund has directed the government to review the gas tariff prices biannually to avoid the accumulation of circular debt in the gas sector.

“The visiting IMF mission flagged the issue of not increasing the gas tariff on a biannual basis by government,” a senior official who was part of the meeting with the Fund told The News. 

“The Fund argued failure to hike the gas tariff biannually for the last 10 years since 2013 caused a massive buildup in the gas circular debt.”

The Pakistani officials told the Fund that the caretaker government had notified the unprecedented hike in gas tariff from November 1. They also explained that the government was hoping it would generate Rs980 billion in revenue in eight months. So, the government may not be required to hike the tariff due from January 2024 when the regulator comes up with a determination to be effective from January next calendar year.

The interim government also communicated to the Fund that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government had delayed the increase in gas tariff because of political considerations, and the caretaker regime has to come up with a massive increase, which will end the process of further increase in the circular debt in FY24 that now stands at Rs2,900 billion.

The IMF mission Tuesday also held a meeting with Ogra officials and asked the regulator why it has not notified the gas tariffs after the lapse of 40 days since its determination. The Fund was told the regulator cannot do it on its own, as under Section 21 of the law, it has to seek guidelines from the government.

On Monday, the government informed the IMF that it expects the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to decline by $2 billion to end at $4.5 billion compared to the $6.5 billion projected till the end of June 2024.

A report published in The News on Tuesday stated that the downward projection of CAD indicated that the government was expecting that imports would continue to decline in the remaining period of the current fiscal year.

Amid difficulties in materialising the external dollar inflows up to the desired mark, the Pakistani authorities have no other option but to reduce the CAD to avert a balance of payment crisis.

Pakistan’s external financing requirements stood at $28 billion — foreign debt servicing of $23.5 billion and CAD projection of $4.5 billion.

After the signing of the IMF agreement under the $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) programme, the forex reserves saw an improvement in July 2023, but in the last two months, the pace of external loans and grants has slowed down. Now the authorities are expecting that completion of the first review of the IMF programme would push up the dollar inflows from multilateral and bilateral creditors.

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Dar chairs the CCOP meeting; Blue World’s bid offer of Rs.10 billion is rejected.

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2 days ago

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The Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister chaired the Cabinet Committee on Privatization meeting.

Other committee members who attended the conference included the Federal Secretaries of several Divisions, the Ministers of Finance and Revenue, Industry and Food, Commerce, Power, and Privatization.

The CCOP took the PC Board’s recommendation into consideration and suggested that Blue World’s bid of 10 billion rupees for the sale of 60% of PIACL’s shares be rejected. The bid was rejected by the CCOP, who chose to follow the PC Board’s advice.

The government’s determination to sell out PIACL through government-to-government or privatization was reaffirmed by the CCOP.

The CCOP was pleased with the Aviation Division’s evaluation of PIACL’s sound financial standing.

Additionally, the CCOP established a committee, chaired by the Minister of State for Finance, to assess potential transaction possibilities for the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel and the appropriate modes of adoption in light of existing legal rules.

Prior to its subsequent meeting, the CCOP also ordered that all difficulties be resolved and an agreement for the selling of services to an international hotel be concluded.

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The KSE-100 Index has surged by 790 points, resulting in an all-time peak for the stock exchange.

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2 days ago

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The benchmark KSE-100 Index increased by 790 points, marking a new all-time high for the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) at 94,982 points.

The record-breaking performance underscores a surge of optimism and investor confidence in the stock market.

As investors responded to favorable economic signals, the market experienced a significant increase of over 500 points in early trading. Later, the KSE-100 Index reached another record level of 94,786 points after adding 594 points to its upward trajectory.

This positive development comes as the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves saw an increase of $84 million, reaching $11.26 billion during the week ending November 8, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

This represents an increase of 0.75% from the previous week. In addition, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves experienced a modest increase, increasing by $33.7 million or 0.21% week-on-week to $15.97 billion.

In contrast, commercial banks’ reserves experienced a decline of $50.3 million or 1.06%, ultimately settling at $4.71 billion.

Furthermore, the economic team of Pakistan has expressed confidence in the discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik, in an exclusive conversation with Samaa TV, claimed talks were moving in a positive direction.

Highlighting improvements in Pakistan’s economic conditions, Malik noted substantial progress over the past six months to a year. He emphasized that Pakistan’s current economic situation has seen significant enhancement, with a reduced current account deficit of only $100 million in the first quarter, a reflection of the government’s strategy to increase remittances and boost exports.

Malik shared that discussions with the IMF are primarily focused on external financing, and while there have been speculations about a potential mini-budget or an increase in the petroleum levy, he clarified that these are currently premature considerations.

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Positive IMF negotiations propel KSE-100 Index above 94,000 points

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3 days ago

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As a result of investors’ optimism about the reported progress in the continuing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a robust surge.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index of the PSX, which tracks market sentiment, rose 713 points to a new record high of 94,068 points, breaking above the 94,000-point barrier, as the trading session began.

Early in the day, the stock market began its upward trajectory as the KSE-100 Index steadily rose, gaining 574 points to reach 93,932 points. A possible agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might lead to more fiscal stability and back Pakistan’s economic reforms, which is why investors are so optimistic about the country’s future.

Officials from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday that the government would not be introducing a mini-budget and would instead continue to aim to collect Rs12,970 billion in taxes each year.

In line with continuing discussions with the Fund, FBR sources revealed that petroleum goods will not be subject to the General Sales Tax (GST).

The fact that Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio has increased from 8.8% to 10.3%, a 1.5% gain viewed as a favorable sign of Pakistan’s fiscal policies, has reportedly pleased the IMF, who has voiced satisfaction at Pakistan’s recent economic performance.

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