Says no need to be nervous, country won’t default
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said Pakistan was well-positioned to manage around $34 billion in external financing in the fiscal year 2023.
“The total (borrowing) requirement for the current fiscal year is about $32-34 billion. You will have $22 billion liabilities due to the multilateral, and roughly $12 billion deficit,” Dar told journalists. “We can, God willing, manage that.”
“I assure you that you don’t need to worry. We will get that,” Dar added. Restructuring debt from the Paris Club and delaying the payment of matured bonds would be cliched steps, the finance minister said.
“Pakistan’s $1 billion worth of Eurobond will mature in December as scheduled and be paid on time,” Dar said. “There is no need to be nervous, Pakistan will not default,” he said.
When asked about his “freedom” to take economic decisions, Dar said had he not been free to do that, he would never have taken up this challenge.
He said it was the State Bank of Pakistan’s responsibility to control the rate of the dollar, which it was dispensing efficiently, adding, the good news was likely around the corner.
“Dollar’s real level was under 200 rupees.” The government would also approach China for the rescheduling of loans, Dar said. “We are confident we will be able to win this relief.”
Earlier, speaking to the media in London, Ishaq Dar said that talks with the International Monetary Fund are progressing well and ‘positive’ results are expected soon.
“During my visit to US, 58 meetings were held with the IMF and the World Bank. In these meetings, a lively discussion was held with the top management,” hecsaid.
Speaking about his meeting with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Dar said a number of issues were part of the discourse but refrained from giving away details, claiming it wasn’t necessary to inform the media about every matter.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, during an interview with Bloomberg in Washington, ruled out the need for any particular supportive measures for the rupee, stoking optimism among traders that the ‘Darnomics’ will soon be able to crack the country’s monetary conundrum.
“The rupee has been heavily undervalued,” Dar said during an interview with Bloomberg in Washington, where he has been attending annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
“It is due to speculation — and some players in the market have been responsible for that,” he said.
“I thank those players in the market who have realised that that game at the cost of the national currency will not continue,” he asserted while highlighting that the exchange rate stabilised after traders learned he would take office.
