The total reserves of the central bank surged to 7.757 billion last week with an increase of 852 million.

The national foreign exchange reserves improved to 12.855 billion dollars as the commercial banks held 5.098 billion reserves by the week, ending December 22, 2023.

The central bank, however, did not indicate how its reserves surged by 852 million in a week.

Govt provides 200 billion rupees to power companies

Meanwhile,

In a groundbreaking effort to address the ongoing circular debt crisis in the energy sector, the government has taken swift action by disbursing approximately Rs200 billion among power companies.

Of this total, Rs140 billion has been distributed to Generation Companies (GENCOs) while Rs57 billion has gone to K-Electric.

What sets this development apart is the directive from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), requiring the recipient companies to settle their cash obligations. Consequently, there’s a high probability that these entities will provide significant dividends to their shareholders.

This initiative not only aims to alleviate the mounting burden of circular debt in the power sector but also marks a partial resolution of the gas circular debt through payments to major Petroleum sector entities, primarily petroleum and Sui companies.

Recently, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) greenlit the Power Division’s proposal to settle payments to Government Owned Power Plants (GPPs) at par with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), directing the release of Rs262.075 billion to public sector power plants via a technical supplementary grant.

To execute this plan effectively, the approval of a Technical Supplementary Grant amounting to Rs262 billion in Investment Head A014 under the Power Division’s investment demand in DISCOs is crucial.

Simultaneously, an agreement has been reached to disburse Rs131.035 billion in the 2nd quarter, with the remainder scheduled for release in subsequent quarters of FY24.