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Pakistan seeking at least $7.6 billion IMF loan
Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:47am EST
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By Sahar Ahmed
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a stand-by credit facility of at least $7.6 billion (5.1 billion pounds) to stave off a balance of payments crisis, the country's top economic adviser said on Saturday.
The international community is concerned that an economic meltdown in the nuclear-armed state could play into the hands of al Qaeda and allied Islamist militant groups seeking to destabilize the Muslim nation of 170 million.
The 8-month-old civilian government is banking on goodwill toward a country undergoing a torrid transition to democracy after more than 8 years of military rule.
Tarin said the IMF had already agreed to lend funds to Pakistan, though the formalities had to be concluded.
"Next week we will officially apply and send them a letter of intent," Shaukat Tarin, the recently appointed adviser to the prime minister, told a news conference in Karachi.
A finance ministry official told Reuters on Friday that the government had asked for a credit facility of up to $9 billion, and based on its IMF quota it was entitled to get at least $7.6 billion.
As of November 8 State Bank of Pakistan's foreign currency reserves were equivalent to just nine weeks cover for import payments, and the government faced defaulting on its international debt obligations in February next year unless it received a multi-billion dollar infusion.
"We want reserves to be above three months of import cover," Tarin said, adding he expected the IMF to make the first disbursements later this month.
The interest rate on facility would vary between 3.51 to 4.51 percent with some changes according to market conditions, and would be repayable between fiscal year 2011/12 and 2015/16, Tarin said.
His statement came a day after Standard & Poor's cut its ratings on the nation's sovereign debt deeper into junk bond territory, highlighting the country's tardiness in raising funds it badly needs to avoid defaulting on its debt liabilities.
Tarin said the IMF had endorsed Pakistan's own strategy to bring about structural adjustments needed to correct unsustainable current account and fiscal deficits.
The strategy included reducing excessive government borrowing from the central bank to zero, but did not involve a cut in defense spending, one of the heaviest items on the budget, Tarin said.
The only point of difference with the IMF, according to Tarin, was the fund's desire to see higher interest rates, but a 200 basis point hike in State Bank's policy discount rate to 15 percent announced on Wednesday partially met those concerns.
With headline inflation running above 25 percent and core inflation at 18.3 percent, real interest rates are still in negative territory.
Pakistan had been in talks with the IMF for months, but officials had been coy about admitting they were seeking an IMF package, because of the harsh conditions the fund often imposes. Continued...
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