State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday night said it received $1.5 billion from Asian Development Bank (ADB) as disbursement of policy based loan for Pakistan.
In a Tweet on Wednesday late night, the central bank said that it had received $1.5 billion from the ADB in value October 26, 2022 as disbursement of policy based loan for the government of Pakistan.
“These proceeds have increased the foreign exchange reserves of SBP and will be reflected in the reserves for the week ending October 28, 2022,” it added.
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Earlier an official statement revealed that the ADB released $1.5 billion to the SBP under Building Resilience Under Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Program.
The BRACE program aims to support the government’s efforts to deal with the adverse impacts of devastating floods, supply chain disruptions, rising energy, fuel prices and inflation on the poor and vulnerable.
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It would expand the number of families receiving cash transfers through Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from 7.9 million to 9 million, increase the number of children enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and enhance geographic coverage of health services and nutritional supplies for pregnant and lactating mothers and children under 2 years old.
The program is completely aligned with the Government’s strategy to provide targeted and temporary countercyclical relief measures.
The facility aims to support deployment of planned countercyclical development expenditure and will promote sound macroeconomic management.
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The program is also in line with the framework of ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) program to implement necessary structural reforms to improve the country’s macroeconomic prospects.
It will also enhance support for business entities to safeguard employment and would help increasing food security measures as well. Furthermore, it will also strengthen social safety net and fiscal measures for the government’s crisis response.
The BRACE program amounting to US$ 1.5 billion was approved by the ADB Board on Friday, 21st October 2022.
This program was initially conceived and approved by the ADB’s Board in May 2022 under a new Countercyclical Support Facility (CSF) to provide targeted support to its developing member countries (DMCs) facing emergency situations.
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The signing ceremony of the BRACE Program was held on 24th October 2022 at Prime Minister House, which was witnessed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Ishaq Dar along with Director General ADB Central and West Asia Department.
