ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday said meetings with stakeholders in the United States remained positive and they congratulated Pakistan for reducing inflation.

He said this after completing his trip to Washington to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from October 21 to 26.

FINMIN held a series of meetings with the heads of several international financial institutions and authorities, including rating agencies, multinational banks, the WB, the IMF and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Aurangzeb said the American business community was willing to invest in Pakistan as all rating agencies said the economy was moving in the right direction.

He also informed the media that the World Bank would give Pakistan a grant rather than a loan. While, he said, the government would try to no longer take out loans from the IMF.

“We have had constructive discussions with the IMF. We will try to make this IMF program our last program,” he said, adding that thanks to the government’s initiatives, the country was moving towards macroeconomic stability.

The finance tsar also warned that the government may have to make tough decisions to revive the economy.

“We are removing the term non-declarant. Non-filers will not be able to buy cars or properties and we will need legal cover for this,” he said.

The Finance Minister said that they have been working tirelessly for the past six months to improve the economy and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reforms were a step in the same direction. He said the tax-to-GDP ratio would be increased from 9% to 13%.

He also said the country’s foreign exchange reserves had exceeded $11 billion.

Aurangzeb said that IT and agriculture sectors have the status of game changer for the country’s development and hence we will have to boost its exports.

On privatization, he said three electricity distribution companies would be privatized initially.

Meanwhile, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed said the country’s debt stood at $100 billion as of June 2022, which had fallen to $98.3 billion. Dependence on foreign loans has been reduced, he added.

On the other hand, the Finance Minister also held various meetings with the heads of different global financial companies on Saturday.

FinMin welcomes VISA’s efforts

Meanwhile, in a meeting with VISA Regional President Andrew Torre in Washington, FinMin Aurangzeb appreciated VISA’s commitment to modernizing Pakistan’s payments ecosystem, including support for domestic payments players like 1Link.

He lauded VISA’s efforts to promote financial inclusion and support entrepreneurs in Pakistan.

Both parties agreed on the importance of offering more routing choices to customers and ensuring a level playing field for processing domestic transactions.

Mohammad Kallala, Global Head of Natixis’ Corporate and Investment Banking business, visited the Finance Minister in Washington DC and briefed him on Natixis’ operations and its strong presence in the infrastructure, renewable energy sectors , transport, aviation, telecommunications and technology.

The two discussed opportunities to partner with Gulf investors, particularly from Saudi Arabia, to provide financing and advisory support for investments in Pakistan.

Kallala explained that the bank aims to collaborate with a select group of large Pakistani companies to facilitate investments.

Both sides agreed on the importance of maintaining continued engagement going forward.

Karan Bhatia, vice president and global head of government affairs and public policy at Google, also visited Aurangzeb in Washington.

During the meeting, Karan Bhatia provided an overview of Google’s recent activities and engagements in Pakistan, as well as its plans to deepen investments and make tangible economic contributions in the country.

It raised regulatory, legislative, connectivity and financial concerns. The Finance Minister assured his full support in this regard.

Pakistan to launch its first Panda bond in the Chinese market

During his meeting with Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min in Washington, the Finance Minister reaffirmed the ironclad strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China.

He thanked the Chinese government for its unwavering support for Pakistan’s socio-economic development and assistance in securing the IMF’s Expanded Financing Facility.

Aurangzeb added that Pakistan was keen to learn from China’s experience in economic reforms. He also welcomed BYD’s decision to introduce electric vehicles in Pakistan.

The minister said the government is considering launching a first Panda bond in the Chinese market to diversify its financing base.

The Finance Minister said the majority of Chinese companies were keen to increase investment and increase employment opportunities in Pakistan.

“The government is committed to ensuring foolproof safety for Chinese workers,” he stressed.

He also asked the Chinese side to raise the limits of the currency swap agreement to CNY 40 billion.

Both sides emphasize the need to settle payments online and integrate the two countries’ payment systems.