Business
IMF board approves $1.3b loan for Pakistan | The Express Tribune
Global lender okays nearly $1.1b under extended fund facility and $220m under resilience and sustainability facility
The International Monetary Fund board on Monday approved a $1.3 billion loan by granting waivers for missing a few core conditions and securing a fresh commitment from Pakistan to introduce new tax measures to offset the impact of a huge revenue shortfall.
To secure the IMF board meeting date, the Pakistani authorities had agreed to fulfill two prior actions – a guarantee to issue an order to restructure an undercapitalised bank and the publication of the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment report – the latter costing the government political capital.
The global lender approved nearly $1.1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and another $220 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to the decision that would keep the two loan programmes worth $8.4 billion on track.
The Ministry of Finance had to face criticism from within, as it remained glued to the conditions agreed with the IMF. The bureaucracy of the Finance Ministry played a key role in keeping the programme on track.
The IMF’s programme has stabilised the economy, and the Finance Ministry showed the first primary budget surplus in years and halted the exponential increase in public debt. The prime minister has praised the performance of the economic team, particularly Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal.
The $1.1 billion is the third tranche under the $7 billion economic stabilisation package, approved on the basis of Pakistan’s economic performance for the January–June period of the last fiscal year.
But to pave the path for approval and continuation of the programme, the board accepted Pakistan’s request for waivers on missing some conditions for the end-June period and also relaxed at least three conditions for the next review.
The IMF programme has brought economic stabilisation, but the structural reforms have yet to take root, even as the national coordinator of the Special Investment Facilitation Council calls for a growth plan.
Government sources said the IMF board waived the quantitative performance criterion of spending Rs599 billion under the Benazir Income Support Programme, as the spending remained below target. However, the central bank overperformed on another condition of building net international reserves after buying $8.4 billion from the local market.
The sources added that the IMF also relaxed the end-December condition on the primary budget surplus due to the impact of the floods and adjusted the target for the filing of new income tax returns and for BISP spending.
The government also missed the conditions on achieving the tax target and on provincial spending for health and education. But it met the conditions on restricting power sector circular debt and on enhancing the maturity of domestic debt to reduce refinancing risks.
Read More: Bringing $3b investment back to PSX
The government managed to meet eight structural benchmarks related to improving areas critical for addressing economic vulnerabilities.
However, it could not achieve a few other structural conditions related to amending state-owned enterprises laws, imposing federal excise duty on fertilizer and pesticides, and timely publishing the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment report.
The corruption assessment report was published with a lag, which the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance described as an “indictment of the government and the Parliament.”
The IMF board was told that the report’s publication was delayed due to needed consultations with government agencies. The Board on Monday also relaxed the deadline for publishing the action plan by the end of this month to address corruption- and governance-related weaknesses.
The government has assured the IMF that it will amend the SOEs laws by August next year and stands ready to impose the federal excise duty on fertilizer and pesticides as part of contingency measures to offset the revenue shortfall.
The Federal Board of Revenue missed its first five months’ tax collection target by Rs413 billion and has promised to impose a mini-budget from January. However, FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial said last month that although the contingency measures had been agreed with the IMF, there would be no need to trigger them.
Sources said the government also missed the condition of not granting any new tax exemption, as it gave an exemption on the import of sugar, which had first been exported, creating a shortfall in the local market.
The central bank told the IMF board that it exercised its right under the Banking Companies Ordinance to restructure and wind up an undercapitalised bank as part of the IMF prior actions.
The board has been assured that, for the completion of the next review of the $7 billion deal, the government will introduce new tax policy measures, if needed, to offset the revenue shortfall. It has also assured that appropriate monetary policy will continue to keep inflation in check.
However, Lt General Sarfraz Ahmad, the national coordinator of the SIFC, recently urged the central bank to cut interest rates to reflect the groundrealities of low inflation of around 6%.
The federal government has promised the IMF that it will regularly adjust electricity and gas prices and reduce the footprint of the state. The central bank also assured the IMF board that it would maintain a flexible exchange rate.
New Delhi: India’s initial public offerings (IPO) have raised a record Rs 1.77 lakh crore ($19.6 billion) in 2025 so far, marginally higher than the 2024 tally, as companies rush to capture increasing investor demand.
With five more offerings scheduled to close on or before December 16, including ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co.’s $1.2‑billion deal, the total value of IPO proceeds is set to rise much higher than last year’s proceeds.
In 2024, Indian IPOs raised Rs 1.73 lakh crore, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The surge reflects a maturing capital market driven by a swelling base of retail investors and steady institutional appetite, even as demand for equities in the secondary market softened.
Analysts said that firms are using buoyant demand to lock in funding before global conditions tighten, and India has eased the process for companies to list and initiated a run of big-ticket deals.
Foreign institutional investors remain active participants in IPOs despite selling a record number of Indian equities in the secondary market. FII enthusiasm in primary markets helped companies across sectors and market caps to raise capital at elevated valuations.
Almost half of the more than 300 firms listed so far this year are trading below their offer price when the scrips debuted.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Thursday, proposed key reforms to address long-standing challenges around locking in pre-IPO pledged shares and simplifying public issue disclosures.
SEBI has suggested enabling depositories to designate pledged shares as “non-transferable” for the lock-in period in response to directives from the issuer.
India’s financial markets are heading into 2026 with renewed confidence, with notable surges in recent months and a resilient macroeconomic environment. This sharp turnaround was fuelled by multiple domestic triggers, including the GST 2.0 rate rationalisation that accelerated consumption across discretionary categories, a surge in manufacturing activity reflected in a two-month high PMI of 58.4.
Last Updated:
Morgan, a renowned American financier and investment banker, had a major influence on the American industry during his lifespan.
A quote from JP Morgan stressing on character and trust in business affairs. (Photo Credit: X)
Most leading personalities and top business and finance entities would’ve at some stage of their journey been inspired by JP Morgan. A renowned American financier and investment banker, Morgan was hailed for his expertise and superspecial skills in wealth management. Dominating the corporate finance on Wall Street at the height of his powers, Morgan significantly influenced the American industry.
Born on April 17, 1837, in Hartford, Connecticut of the United States, Morgan went on to establish himself as a prominent financier and industrial organiser. Due to his great skill and understanding of money, business and how financial affluence and influence truly work, the legendary money man of America became one of the world’s foremost business personalities in the decades leading into World War I.
According to the Britannica website, Morgan was responsible for reorganising several major railroads. He also financed industrial consolidations that led to the foundation of United States Steel, International Harvester and General Electric. Morgan’s banking power bolstered industrial mergers and trusts with such corporations. He also emerged as a hero during the Panic of 1907, playing a huge role in preventing financial collapse and the creation of the Federal Reserve.
JP Morgan’s Wealth Quote Of The Day
“Money equals business which equals power, all of which come from character and trust.”
What The Quote Implies
While it may at first glance appear like a simple equation and summation of money and power, the quote contains a deeper message for business leaders and corporate entities. To prioritise ‘character’ and ‘trust’, through which they can lay the foundation for long-term excellence instead of briefly or inconsistently achieving success. Morgan implies that the blend of character and trust is at the root of financial affluence and the growth of power.
This powerful quote has inspired generation after generation to excel in business activities and decision-making as well as life. Trust, which is a non-quantifiable asset, is built gradually through actions and by consistently replicating your words. When business figures and entities keep up with their words, they develop reliability and evoke faith. Morgan suggests that the money naturally arrives in the hands of those who deal with finances responsibly and consider their reputation as an uncompromisable asset.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 09, 2025, 17:16 IST
Read More
Ben & Jerry’s will be destroyed as a brand if it remains with parent company Magnum, the company’s co-founder Ben Cohen has told the BBC.
His remarks are the latest in a long-running spat between the ice cream brand and its parent company over its ability to express its social activism and the continued independence of its board.
The comments came on the day that the Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) started trading on the European stock market – spinning off from owner Unilever.
A spokesperson for Magnum said the firm wanted to build and strengthen Ben & Jerry’s “powerful, non-partisan values-based position in the world”.
Ben & Jerry’s was sold to Unilever in 2000 in a deal which allowed it to retain an independent board and the right to make decisions about its social mission.
Since the sale there have been deepening clashes between the Vermont-based brand and Unilever, with this conflict now inherited by Magnum.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s refused to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel, resulting in its Israeli operation being sold by Unilever to a local licensee, and in October, Ben Cohen said it was prevented from launching an ice cream which expressed “solidarity with Palestine”.
Last month, ahead of its spin off from Unilever, Magnum said the chair of Ben & Jerry’s board Anuradha Mittal, who has held the position since 2018, “no longer meets the criteria to serve” – saying this was the result of an internal audit.
A spokesperson for Magnum said it had found “a series of material deficiencies in financial controls, governance and other compliance policies, including conflicts of interest”.
“So far, the trustees have not fully addressed the deficiencies identified,” they said.
In a statement to Reuters, Ms Mittal said: “The so-called audit of the foundation was a manufactured inquiry – engineered to attempt to discredit me.
“It is important to understand that this is not simply an attack on me as chair. It is Unilever’s attempt to undermine the authority of the Board itself.”
The BBC has contacted Ben & Jerry’s to request this statement.
Mr Cohen said Magnum “has no standing to determine who the chair of the independent board should be”.
“Therefore, by trying to [change the chair of the board], I would say that Magnum is not fit to own Ben & Jerry’s,” he added.
Mr Cohen called for either the business to be “owned by a group of investors that support the brand and want to encourage the values” or for Magnum to make a “180 degree turn around and say they support the chairman of the independent board”.
Ahead of the spin off on Monday, news agency Reuters reported that Ms Mittal said she had no plans to step down from the board.
Ben Cohen remains an employee of Ben & Jerry’s and the brand’s most high-profile spokesperson.
He told the BBC he feared under the current ownership the ice cream maker’s “loyal” followers would be lost for good.
“If the company continues to be owned by Magnum, not only will the values be lost, but the essence of the brand will be lost,” he said.
On Sunday, Magnum’s chief executive Peter ter Kulve told the Financial Times the Ben & Jerry’s founders were in their seventies and “at a certain moment they need to hand over to a new generation”.
Jerry Greenfield, Mr Cohen’s co-founder, left the ice cream maker in September after almost half a century at the firm – citing concerns about the stifling of its social mission.
“It’s absurd,” said Mr Cohen.
“This is about values and abiding by a legally binding agreement.”
Mr Cohen added investors in Magnum were being asked to pay a premium for the Ben & Jerry’s brand “because it has such a loyal following”.
“As they destroy Ben and Jerry’s values, they will destroy that following and they will destroy that brand,” he said.
“It’ll become just another piece of frozen mush that just going to lose a lot of market share.”
A spokesperson for Magnum said Ben & Jerry’s was “not for sale” and it had “always respected” the brand’s commitment to continue its “social mission”.
The demerger of Unilever’s ice cream business saw primary shares in Magnum open at €12.20 (£10.66) – down on the expected €12.80 (£11.18) reference price set by the EuroNext exchange in Amsterdam. But it bounced back up by 1.3% at close of trading.
The spin off means Magnum is now the world’s biggest standalone ice cream business.
ICE cotton dips as traders await WASDE & Fed meeting
Two new PSL teams draw investors’ interest at London roadshow, says PCB
Topshop & THG Studios launch world-first AI shoppable catwalk
-
Tech1 week agoGet Your Steps In From Your Home Office With This Walking Pad—On Sale This Week
-
Entertainment1 week agoSadie Sink talks about the future of Max in ‘Stranger Things’
-
Sports1 week agoIndia Triumphs Over South Africa in First ODI Thanks to Kohli’s Heroics – SUCH TV
-
Fashion1 week agoResults are in: US Black Friday store visits down, e-visits up, apparel shines
-
Politics1 week agoElon Musk reveals partner’s half-Indian roots, son’s middle name ‘Sekhar’
-
Tech1 week agoPrague’s City Center Sparkles, Buzzes, and Burns at the Signal Festival
-
Sports1 week agoBroncos secure thrilling OT victory over Commanders behind clutch performances
-
Business7 days agoCredit Card Spends Ease In October As Point‑Of‑Sale Transactions Grow 22%