Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has expressed confidence that Pakistan’s current account will remain in surplus throughout the fiscal year 2024-25, citing improving economic indicators and fiscal discipline.
Addressing a pre-budget seminar organized by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in Karachi on Wednesday, the minister stated that the country is on track for a positive balance in its current account for the full financial year.
Contrastingly, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in its half-yearly report for FY2024-25, offered a more cautious outlook, projecting that the full-year current account could either register a surplus or a deficit of up to 0.5% of GDP.
Highlighting revenue targets, Aurangzeb said that Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach 10.6% in FY25. He added that the government aims to elevate this ratio to 13.5% over the next three years through structural tax reforms.
In a bold statement, the finance minister declared that the upcoming International Monetary Fund (IMF) program would be Pakistan’s last, signaling a strategic shift toward self-sustained economic management.
Recent figures support the minister’s optimism. Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $0.7 billion from July to February of FY25, a marked improvement compared to the $1.7 billion deficit during the same period last year.
