IMF team arrives in Pakistan for bailout review: sources

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is arriving in Pakistan on Wednesday for a second and last review of a $3 billion standby arrangement, two sources said.

The four-day review begins on Thursday, said the two finance ministry officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to disclose the information.

Islamabad secured the last-gasped rescue package last summer to avert a sovereign default.

The last review, if successful, will release a tranche of around $1.1 billion.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already directed his finance team, headed by newly installed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to initiate work on seeking an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) after the standby arrangement expires on April 11.

Aurangzeb told reporters that the team was arriving this week, without mentioning a date, according to the Dawn daily.

The lender has said it will formulate a medium-term programme if Islamabad applies for one.

More from Business

  • Nasdaq set to confirm bear market as Trump tariffs trigger recession fears

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was set to confirm it was in a bear market on Friday, down more than 20 per cent from a recent record high, as investors fled riskier assets on fears that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could spark a trade war and tip the global economy into recession.

  • Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum exceed 500M boe in Khor Mor field

    UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, alongside their partners in the Pearl Petroleum consortium, have said the cumulative production from their Khor Mor project, the largest non-associated gas field in Iraq, has exceeded 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

  • China to impose tariffs of 34% on all US goods

    China has announced a slew of additional tariffs and restrictions against US goods as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Finance Ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34 per cent on all US goods from April 10.

  • Shares bruised, dollar crumbles as Trump tariffs stir recession fears

    Stocks limped to the end of the week on Friday, the dollar was set for its worst week in a month while gold flirted with a record peak as investors feared US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs would tip the global economy into a recession.

  • Wall Street futures sink as tariffs fuel recession fears

    US stock index futures tumbled on Thursday after President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on major trade partners heightened fears of an all-out trade war that could push the global economy into a recession.

News