Pakistan formally requests $1bn from IMF: finance minister

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told Reuters that Pakistan is targeting around $1 billion in a formal request for funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility that helps manage external shocks. “We have formally requested to be considered for this facility,” Aurangzeb said in an interview on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank autumn meetings in Washington. The IMF agreed to a bailout for Pakistan last month but has further funding available via its Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST). The country is also in talks with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for a credit enhancement for a planned Panda bond, with an initial issue of $200-250 million. Govt aims to privatise PIA by November Pakistan is also hoping to finalise both the delayed privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the outsourcing of Islamabad’s international airport in November, Aurangzeb said. He spoke to AFP at the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington.