Pakistan

Millions of people across Pakistan’s major cities were plunged into a blackout prompted by a power grid failure, dealing another blow to the nation already reeling from surging energy costs, Bloomberg News reported. Outages were reported in locations including Karachi, Lahore and capital Islamabad, according to local media reports, and it could take as long as 12 hours to fully restore electricity, Geo TV said, citing Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan. Many major businesses were relying on backup power systems, and Pakistan’s stock exchange was trading as normal.

Pakistan’s prime minister said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates agreed to extend a $2 billion loan to his country and provide an additional $1 billion as his nation struggles to recover from devastating floods this summer and a dire economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s office made the announcement after he met with the leader of the UAE, Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it was considering providing up to $11 billion to Pakistan, a potential lifeline to a country facing default, the Wall Street Journal reported. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar in recent months have said they might also offer help to Pakistan, with potential loans and investments from Gulf nations now totaling at least $22 billion after the latest announcement from Riyadh. Gulf countries have said they could extend a similar level of support to Egypt, which is also struggling economically.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the government will fulfill its external debt commitments including the repayment of a sukuk bond that’s due in the first week of December, Bloomberg News reported. “There is no chance of default. Repayment will be done on time,” he said in a televised message on Saturday, adding that arrangements for debt repayments for next year have been done “in principle.” Dar estimated the country’s current account deficit would be at $6 billion at the end of June 2023, half that of an earlier projection.

Pakistan will "absolutely not" default on debt obligations despite catastrophic floods, the finance minister said on Sunday, signalling there would be no major deviation from reforms designed to stabilise a struggling economy, Reuters reported. Floods have affected 33 million Pakistanis, inflicted billions of dollars in damage, and killed over 1,500 people - creating concern that Pakistan will not meet debts. "The path to stability was narrow, given the challenging environment, and it has become narrower still," Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told Reuters at his office.

Pakistan's central bank on Monday held its main policy rate at 15%, the bank said in a statement, adding it would closely watch inflation data and global commodity prices, Reuters reported. "Looking ahead, the MPC (monetary policy committee) intends to remain data-dependent, paying close attention to month-on-month inflation ... as well as global commodity prices and interest rate decisions by major central banks," the State Bank said in a statement.

Pakistan’s rupee, bonds and stocks are rallying as investors bet the nation will win a bailout from the International Monetary Fund this month and avoid a default, Bloomberg News reported. Dollar bonds due in December were indicated at about 95 cents on the dollar on Tuesday from a low of 85 cents in July, as investors turn more confident the debt will be repaid. The rupee surged 11% this month to 213.87 per dollar as of Monday, the biggest gainer in the world. The benchmark stock index climbed 9%, the top performer in Asia after Sri Lanka.

Pakistan sees a way out of its current economic crisis without descending into default, thanks to progress on a stalled International Monetary Fund loan as well as spending cuts, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, Bloomberg News reported. “With the commodity super cycle and Russia-Ukraine war, oil prices skyrocketing and gas going as high as ever been in history, Pakistan and other emerging countries have been facing the worst crisis,” he said in a phone interview.

The International Monetary Fund agreed to a bailout of Pakistan, providing a financial lifeline as emerging markets strain under pressure from a global price shock rippling out from the war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. The IMF said in a statement late Wednesday it would provide Pakistan with $4 billion over the next year, starting with an initial $1.2 billion, once its board formally approves the agreement worked out with Pakistani officials over weeks of negotiations.