According to the information on the website of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the issue of the second installment of the standby arrangement provided to Pakistan on the 11th of this month has been included in the agenda of the meeting of the executive board of the institution.

This agreement was concluded on the last day of the last financial year, June 30, with very strict conditions during the former coalition government's tenure, the results of which were the continuous increase in the prices of electricity, gas, and petrol, and thus the inflation of all commodities.

People are suffering. However, in order to save the country from default, obtaining a loan from the IMF is currently the compulsion of Pakistan, because without it, it is not possible to obtain financial support from friendly countries and other financial institutions.

The caretaker federal government has also assured the IMF to fulfill all the other conditions, due to which there is strong hope that the second tranche of 700 million dollars for Pakistan will be approved in the meeting of the management board of the financial fund.

The positive result has come in the form of an immediate resurgence of the stock exchange. The current program of the monetary fund is expected to end in the second week of April, with about $1.8 billion remaining.

The initial tranche of $1.2 billion was released in July. Last November, a staff-level agreement was reached between IMF staff and Pakistani officials regarding the first review under Pakistan's standby arrangement, which the IMF's executive board will approve at its board meeting next week.

This development is of great importance for Pakistan's economic scenario as the payment of the next tranche can provide much-needed financial support.

The outcome of this meeting will shape the future of ongoing economic cooperation between Pakistan and the IMF. "Discussions between IMF staff and Pakistani officials on policies to strengthen macroeconomic stability in the coming year, and significant progress on the budget, have been made," an IMF statement said. "However, every effort should be made to keep the burden of the strict conditions of the IMF program as low as possible on the low-income and salaried classes, for which the elimination of elite privileges is necessary.

Solar power should be made public on a war footing to relieve people of the burden of heavy electricity bills, private enterprises have now started providing this facility on installments which should be encouraged. Commercial banks should also be encouraged to provide loans on easy terms for this purpose so that people can repay the loan installments with the money saved from electricity bills after installing solar panels instead of incurring any additional expenses.

Privatization of all institutions which become a burden on the national exchequer due to running at a loss is also inevitable so that the tax money of the people is spent on providing the necessary facilities of life to the people instead of meeting the deficit of these institutions.

The national and provincial governments formed after the general elections should arrange to form as short a cabinet as possible instead of the large number of ministers.

In addition, the Special Investment Facility Council project must be pushed forward rapidly so that the economy can stand on its feet and fulfill the dream of saying goodbye to the IMF, which is currently in its 24th programme.

Meanwhile, the new year has begun on positive trend at Pakistan Stock Exchange which is good augury.

Due to the positive economic indicators, the investors welcomed the new year in the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The first day was a record breaker due to heavy investment in all key sectors.  A new wave of boom came. The market opened at a gain of 221 points. Two levels of 63000 and 64000 points of the index were crossed one after the other.

An increase of more than two trillion 80 billion rupees was recorded in the market capital. The total volume of capital exceeded 93 trillion rupees and 86.31% share prices increased.

A total of 380 companies were traded in which 328 shares increased, 37 decreased and 15 remained stable. In the Pakistan Stock Exchange, for the second consecutive day of the new year, the trend of business growth continued.

 On Tuesday, the benchmark SE 100 index crossed the psychological level of 65,000 after gaining 598 points. 2023 proved to be a good year for the Pakistan Stock Exchange which started and ended on a positive trend. Its last trading day index closed at 62451.  However, 2022 has been a stressful year for the stock market. At the start of the new year, the energy sector stood out in terms of business volume.

According to experts, this is because the authorities seem serious about solving the problems of revolving credit. The release of funds to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) is the reason for the boom.

On January 11, the expected approval of loans from the IMF and the arrival of new inflows, under the plan set for the new year, the market graph is moving higher, which is a good omen.

The Gallup survey also showed a 42 percent improvement in the net score of business confidence for the future.

Meanwhile,  the Caretaker Federal Minister of Commerce Gohar Ijaz has  expressed regarding increase in exports, saying that exports will be increased to as much as three billion US dollars per month in near future.

Commenting on the economic scenario in Islamabad, the Caretaker Federal Minister of Commerce added that the next target set by the Government is to enhance the country's exports to a record 8 billion US dollars per month. In this regard a New industrial policy is on the anvil which will help achieve the export targets, adding, that the industrial policy is being formulated with the help of SIFC framework.

It may be mentioned here that last month, our exports exceeded 2 billion 80 million dollars which is a good omen.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 05 2024

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