December 22, 2001	Saturday	Shawwal 6, 1422

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KARACHI, Dec 21: Pakistan has received $109.5 million as first tranche out of the $1.3 billion poverty reduction and growth facility from the IMF.

The country will get the entire amount in 12 equal instalments in three years.

A spokesman for the State Bank told Dawn on Friday that, with the inflow of this amount into SBP account on Thursday, Pakistan’s liquid foreign exchange reserves had risen to $4.632 billion. Of this, $2.96 billion was held by the State Bank and $1.66 billion by all other banks, he added.

The spokesman said that, on December 8, gross liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $4.56 billion, including $2.85 billion held by the central bank and $1.61 billion held by all other banks.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves had begun to rise after the September 11 attack on the US. At the end of September, the reserves stood at $3.3 billion ,including $1.7 billion held by the SBP and $1.6 billion held by other banks, the spokesman said.

The reserves had swelled as those Pakistanis, who had transferred billions of dollars abroad, brought the money back home after the tightening of anti-money laundering rules in the wake of September 11 events. This unusual inflow had reduced the gap between the official and free market exchange rates, thereby encouraging overseas Pakistanis to send more money back home through banks, he added.

The spokesman said the combined result was that gross foreign exchange reserves, that stood at $3.3 billion at the end of September, had now risen to $4.62 billion. This $1.3 billion build-up in reserves was also due partly to a $600 million aid from the US in recognition of Pakistan’s support to its war in Afghanistan, he added.

The rapid inflow of dollars after September 11 had enabled the State Bank to further liberalize the rules governing the release of foreign exchange by the banks, the spokesman said. Only recently, the central bank had lifted restrictions on selling of foreign exchange by the banks to those travelling abroad.