IMF bailout amount not yet determined: Asad Umar

KARACHI: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Saturday said the amount of aid being sought from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not been determined as yet.

Speaking to industrialists at the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Karachi, Umar said, “Independent power producers (IPPs) benefit the most from circular debt and subsidies are not a solution to the problem.”

The finance minister while speaking about relief packages said, “We will receive $1 billion from Saudi Arabia within the next one to two days.”

“The amount of aid sought from IMF has not yet been determined and is being worked on,” he added.

Umar regretted that hawali and hundi “caused destruction in the country”.

“We have learnt that 4,000 Pakistanis own assets in Dubai and 97,000 Pakistanis own properties in other foreign countries,” he added.

Regarding the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the finance minister said, “FATF is a serious issue and we are expecting positive progress on it in January.”

Umar further said, “We will have to fix tax machinery and not the budget target. Tax cases worth Rs1,300 billion are pending in courts.”

“Special courts are being formed to resolve tax issues,” the finance minister added.

'Committee formed for sale of K Electric'

The finance minister further said that a committee has been formed for the sale of K Electric to Shanghai Electric. 

"We will try our best that the matter is not delayed. We do not want an uncertain situation to cloud the future of Karachi's main power supplier," he added.