Islamabad (November 12, 2018): The first round of policy talks between Pakistan and IMF has been concluded on Monday in which government institution’s structure came under discussion.
The basic structure and procedure of operation of the state-owned institutions were discussed.
According to sources IMF and officials of finance ministry have set the policy for future talks while IMF team apprised the Pakistani officials regarding the payments policy.
The Pakistani delegation includes secretary finance, chairman federal board of revenue (FBR) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa among other officials.
During the meetings, the Fund will review SBP’s financial independence and FBR’s performance. Additionally, the IMF will also focus on Pakistan’s monetary and fiscal policies as well as its financial needs while considering the current account deficit.
Last week, the first phase of talks, regarding the technical discussions on a possible bailout package, was concluded in the federal capital. Pakistani officials informed the visiting IMF delegation about the government’s intention to establish a ‘wealth funds to turn the loss-making state-owned entities into profit-making enterprises before their privatization.
According to sources, the government has informed the visiting IMF team that it has planned to privatize seven state-owned enterprises initially.
The IMF urged the government to control the losses of the state entities. The visiting team of the lender has also expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the energy sector and the ballooning circulation debt.
The officials of the international body said that the government had assured about reforms in the power sector during the previous bailout talks. The Fund also demanding a speedy privatization of the loss-making entities.
Reportedly, the incumbent government has finalised its paperwork to seek up to $6 billion bailout package from the IMF.
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