KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad has said that import restrictions will be removed after a staff-level agreement is reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking after the meeting of SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the governor said that import restriction measures are temporary and are being gradually removed.
He said that the central bank has removed the cash margin requirement and the requirement of approval from the SBP for imports.
Commenting on the financing requirements for the current fiscal year (FY23), the governor said that out of $23 billion that had to be repaid within FY23 most payments have either been rolled over or made.
He added that $4.5 billion have to be repaid by the end of June out of which $2.3 billion will be rolled over and $2.2 billion has to be repaid to bilateral and multilateral lenders while only $100 million has to be repaid to commercial lenders.
The governor said the country’s current account deficit (CAD) is expected to be below $5 billion for FY23. He pointed out that CAD for February 2023 clocked in at just $74 million.
The central bank governor said that discussions are ongoing with the IMF. He added that prior actions have been taken and the last hurdle is financing commitments which are expected to come soon.
