LAHORE: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has described Pakistan’s crude oil and other energy supplies as satisfactory, saying the government has made adequate arrangements to meet the country’s energy needs until November, while further measures are being taken to ensure supplies during winter.
Addressing an event at a private university in Lahore, Aurangzeb said Pakistan had avoided an energy shortage, with no queues forming at petrol stations or law and order problems arising from an energy crisis.
However, he acknowledged that further steps were needed to meet the country’s gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) requirements.
Discussing the country’s economic performance, the finance minister said Pakistan’s information technology (IT) export services had increased from one billion dollars to 4.6 billion dollars. IT exports are expected to reach 5.5 billion dollars in the current fiscal year, he added.
Aurangzeb said foreign exchange reserves had reached a record high and were sufficient to cover more than three months of imports. In the past, he recalled, the reserves had fallen to the equivalent of just two weeks of imports.
He said Pakistan’s credit rating had improved three times since April last year, while the government had taken important steps to regain access to international financial markets.
According to the minister, Pakistan undertook a private placement in April this year, accessed international markets through the issuance of Panda bonds and issued three billion euros worth of bonds in the first week of September.
He said orders received from investors for Pakistan’s euro bonds were twice the amount offered, with investors from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States expressing interest.
Aurangzeb added that international investors were assessing Pakistan’s economic outlook following its engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current IMF programme is scheduled to conclude in October next year, he said.
On energy supplies, the minister said Pakistan had taken effective measures to secure energy purchases and supplies despite regional conflicts. Arrangements were in place to meet requirements until November, while preparations for the winter season were continuing.
The finance minister also said the government had opted for targeted subsidies instead of general subsidies to ensure that relief reached deserving segments of society.
He said targeted subsidies had been provided for motorcycles, three-wheelers and vehicles with engine capacities below 800cc. Around 12 million unique beneficiaries had received the relief so far, while an estimated 40 million to 50 million people across the country had benefited overall.
Aurangzeb said Pakistan was continuing structural reforms alongside efforts to maintain economic stability, adding that reforms had moved beyond the planning stage and were now being implemented.
