IMF approves $252.6m soft loan to Pakistan
AFP, Washington
The IMF said Wednesday it has approved 252.6 million dollars to Pakistan as part of a poverty busting loan facility after finding the country's economic performance satisfactory. The three-year soft loan known as the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) ends this year with total disbursements of 1.263 billion dollars. "Pakistan has come a long way in a short period of time in the context of the three-year arrangement under the PRGF, and there was strong macroeconomic performance" in the period under review, said Augustin Carstens, deputy managing Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was also happy with the country's structural reforms, noting that it had a more efficient and competitive financial system. Pakistan's economy is on track to grow 6.4 percent in the year to June, exceeding the government's target of 5.3 percent, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said earlier this month. In the previous year, the economy grew 5.1 percent. Growth was led largely by the manufacturing, construction and services sectors.
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