Pakistan seeks to end 50 years of IMF debt with ESG bond, trade

Pakistan, which has sought almost 20 bailouts from the International Monetary Fund over half a century, wants to end its reliance on the multilateral lender by shrinking deficits and tapping capital markets on its way to sustainable economic growth.  

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, who negotiated the last leg of its current IMF loan, is targeting a budget shortfall to 5%-5.25% of gross domestic product in the year starting July 1, from 6.1% now, and aims to spur economic growth to 6% from 5%. 

“I think this program should be enough,” Tarin, 68, said in an interview in Islamabad. “If we