IMF releases nearly $500 million to Pakistan

• IMF releases nearly $500 million disbursement to Pakistan for budget support.
• Latest payment brought total disbursements under Extended Fund Facility to $2 billion.
• The program was first approved in July 2019.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a $500 million disbursement to Pakistan for budget support, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said Tuesday.

The IMF Executive Board completed delayed reviews of Pakistan's $6 billion loan programme last week. The international moneylender, in a statement, had said the latest payment brought total disbursements under the Extended Fund Facility to $2 billion since the programme was first approved in July 2019.

"The Pakistani authorities have continued to make satisfactory progress under the Fund-supported programme, which has been an important policy anchor during an unprecedented period," IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said in a statement.

"While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges, the authorities’ policies have been critical in supporting the economy and saving lives and livelihoods," she said.

The disbursement was made after Pakistan cleared up an issue with data on government guarantees dating back to the 2016 fiscal year that had been reported inaccurately and put the government in non-compliance with the program.

The IMF said Pakistani authorities had taken strong corrective actions to address institutional shortcomings, including a lack of interagency coordination, to correct the issue. 

— Additional input from Reuters