22 Oct 2008

Pakistan needs $US15b to avert financial crisis

9:08 am on 22 October 2008

Pakistan urgently requires $US10 to $US15 billion of support from foreign lenders to avert a balance of payments crisis.

An adviser to the prime minister on economic affairs, Shaukat Tarin, said last Saturday that Pakistan needed action in 30 days.

He told Dawn News television on Tuesday the imbalance must be corrected in 24 months.

Pakistan is expected to seek a rescue package from the International Monetary Fund at a meeting between officials in Dubai on Tuesday.

Other donors are expected to help if the IMF paves the way and approves Pakistan's economic strategy.

Pakistan has already approached the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and bilateral donors, including Saudi Arabia and China, for support.

Consultations with the IMF were taking place in the Gulf because of a security condictions in Pakistan. Last month, an IMF team left Islamabad in a hurry after a suicide bomber killed 55 people and destroyed the Marriott hotel.