Page 4 - Imf

IMF to hold virtual talks on Pakistan's budget amid security concerns

The International Monetary Fund will on Wednesday hold virtual discussions on Pakistan's upcoming budget as the visit of its mission to Islamabad was delayed due to security concerns in the region. The federal government is planning to unveil the budget for fiscal 2025-26 on June 2. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks will continue until May 16. The global lender has appointed a new mission chief to Pakistan and the mission is now expected to travel to Islamabad over the weekend, subject to the security situation, government sources told The Express Tribune on Tuesday. The IMF mission delayed its scheduled arrival here on Tuesday due to uncertainty caused by the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict that has affected air travel across the region. Virtual discussions are expected to be held from today. For the second and final leg of the talks, the IMF team is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Saturday and stay until May 23, the source said. The IMF's Resident Representative to

Pakistan: An economy on life support, strained by debt and weak reforms

Faces shaky recovery amid renewed tensions with India, surging debt, IMF dependence, weak reforms, and chronic structural and governance failures. SHIKHA CHATURVEDI & JAYANT PANKAJ explain

Why India abstained on IMF's $2.3 billion loan package for Pakistan

India abstained from voting on the IMF executive board's approval of two loan proposals worth $2.3 billion for Pakistan, officially recording its objections without casting a dissenting vote

IMF approves disbursement of $1 bn loan to Pakistan despite India's warning

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved the immediate disbursement of about USD 1 billion to Pakistan under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over the approval of a USD 1bn dollar instalment for Pakistan by the IMF and the failure of India's high-handed tactics against it," according to a statement issued by the PMO. It said Pakistan's economic situation has improved and the country is moving towards development.

India abstains from IMF vote on Pakistan loan; flags terror financing

India abstains from IMF vote on Pakistan's loan, citing risks of misuse for cross-border terrorism and warning against military interference in economic policy

India abstains from voting on IMF's $2.3 billion loan to Pakistan

The Indian side raised the possibility of the funds being used for terror activities; both countries are in a military stand-off after Pak-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians at Pahalgam in Jammu an

India urges IMF to act cautiously on bailout package to Pakistan

India has expressed concern ahead of the IMF's decision on Pakistan's bailout package, urging the board to evaluate the country's past track record with such programmes

Union Bank staff body seeks probe into India@100 book purchase deal

Union Bank of India employees' union flags large-scale book purchases of India@100 by IMF official Subramanian, questions approval process and demands disclosure

Union Bank's ₹7.25 cr book purchase faces heat amid Subramanian's IMF exit

Public sector lender Union Bank purchased 189,450 paperback and 10,422 hardcover copies of Krishnamurthy V Subramanian's book 'India@100: Envisioning Tomorrow's Economic Powerhouse' for ₹7.25 crore

Krishnamurthy Subramanian's termination was India's call, says IMF

Sources said the reasons for Subramanian's termination included alleged impropriety in using his position to promote and publicise his latest book India@100

Parameswaran Iyer to represent India at IMF vote on fresh tranche to Pak

Subramanian's sudden exit from the IMF has raised questions in policy circles

Tariffs, oil prices, other uncertainties weighing on Mideast economies: IMF

Countries across the Middle East and North Africa face significant challenges to economic growth as the region faces economic uncertainty due to tariff measures, lower-than-recent oil prices and cuts to financial aid, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. The IMF's regional outlook report for the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) said Brent crude oil prices which are down from highs above USD 120 a barrel in 2022 are likely to be USD 65 to USD 69 per barrel in 2025 and 2026, making energy-exporting economies vulnerable to market fluctuations. Tariff plans by the US and other countries and geopolitical tensions also have created mounting economic uncertainty globally that is weighing down on the region's economies, which could negatively impact their growth by anywhere from 2 per cent to 4.5 per cent, said Jihad Azour, director for Middle East and Central Asia at the IMF. Therefore countries need to react and need to devise policies in order to protect their ...

Congress urges govt to oppose IMF's $1.3 billion loan consideration to Pak

This statement from Congress comes just days after the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam region, which the party blamed on Pakistan

Jerome Powell draws applause on independence at closed-door IMF meeting

Powell delivered an impassioned defense of central bank independence when he addressed policymakers and finance ministers during a meeting on Friday

IMF-World Bank meetings end with little tariff clarity, economic foreboding

Many participants in the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings had a sense that Trump's administration was still conflicted in its demands from trading partners hit with his sweeping tariffs

Private investment in India is still a worry: IMF's Krishna Srinivasan

The IMF on Tuesday pared down its FY26 growth forecast for India by 30 basis points to 6.2 per cent, citing escalating trade tensions and global uncertainty in its latest World Economic Outlook

IMF chief urges swift action to ease trade tensions that risk growth

The head of the International Monetary Fund urged countries to move swiftly' to resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the unpredictability arising from President Donald Trump's aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports is causing companies to delay investments and consumers to hold off on spending. Uncertainty is bad for business,' she told reporters on Thursday in a briefing during the spring meetings of the IMF and its sister agency, the World Bank. Georgieva's comments came two days after the IMF downgraded the outlook for world economic growth this year. The 191-country lending organisation, which seeks to promote global growth, financial stability and to reduce poverty, also sharply lowered its forecast for the United States. It said the chances that the world's biggest economy would fall into recession have risen from 25 per cent, to about 40 per cent. Georgieva warned that the economic fallout from

Bessent says IMF, World Bank need reform, sees chance for China deal

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leveled harsh criticism at the operations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday even as he tried to reassure nervous investors that the United States would maintain its global leadership role. America first does not mean America alone, he said in a speech to the Institute of International Finance, where he also promised support for the multilateral banks' core missions. "To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners. Although Bessent said the IMF and the World Bank are falling short, he did not call for the US to withdraw from the institutions, as some conservatives had advocated in a Project 2025 proposal created by the Heritage Foundation. He said the institutions serve critical roles in the international system. And the Trump administration is eager to work with them so long as they can stay true to their missions. It was the latest example of how Bessent, a former hed

India amid global strain: Rate cut relief versus trade war challenges

The silver lining amid these growth concerns is the moderation in domestic inflation

IMF cuts India's FY26 growth forecast to 6.2% amid trade tensions

The WEO stressed that swift escalation of trade tensions has generated extremely high levels of policy ambiguity, making it more difficult than usual to establish a central global growth outlook