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Pakistan seeks $9 bln loan from IMF

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $9 billion bailout along with help from other lenders to avert a balance of payments crisis, a finance ministry official said on Friday."We are asking $9 billion from the IMF, they are talking about $7.4 billion. IMF can give us up to $7.6 billion," a finance ministry official told a foreign news agency. The official said that the government would soon deliver a letter of intent to the IMF, paving the way for the world's lender of last resort to release funds rapidly.Another official said on Friday that the letter of intent would probably be sent before Monday, when potential donors are due to gather in Abu Dhabi for a "Friends of Pakistan" conference.The conference of officials is not expected to result in loans being pledged, but it could pave the way for a ministerial meeting later.Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's cited Pakistan's tardiness in securing foreign assistance for a decision on Friday to lower its rating on the nation's sovereign debt deeper into junk bond territory.

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