Stocks up, but IMF-friendly budget gets mixed reviews

KARACHI: Pakistani stocks rose on Wednesday and the business community gave mixed reviews of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first budget aimed at securing a $6 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Khan’s government is seeking to stabilise a wobbly economy with the IMF loan agreed in principle but contingent on Pakistan pushing ahead with reforms and measures to curb ballooning current and fiscal account deficits.

The government had been preparing the ground for belt-tightening, but the budget released on Tuesday for the fiscal year to June 2020 underlined the scale of the economic challenges it faces.

The government had been forecasting growth of 4pc for the next financial year, but after Revenue Minister Hammad Azhar delivered his budget speech to parliament on Tuesday evening, the government released a budget document showing it trimmed its growth estimate for the coming year to 2.4pc.