Operationalisation of EXIMBP: TA project rated less than relevant, less than successful by ADB arm

ISLAMABAD: The Independent Evaluation Department (IED) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has rated technical assistance for “Pakistan: Promoting Investments and Economic Growth through International Trade” less than relevant and less than successful.

The IED in its validation report stated that the technical assistance (TA) project was aimed supporting the operationalisation of the Export Import Bank of Pakistan (EXIMBP) by developing constitutive documents, strategy, systems, and policies in line with international best practices. The deficiencies in the design seriously affected the delivery of the targeted outcome, the report noted.

The TA worth $0.5 million was approved in September 2018. Actual completion date is February 1, 2022, against the planned completion date of December 31, 2019, while the disbursement was $0.494 million.

The TA was specifically requested by the government of Pakistan and was aligned with the country’s Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2018–2023. The TA was not included in the ADB Country Operations Business Plan at approval. Nonetheless, its scope was aligned with ADB’s country partnership strategy (CPS) for Pakistan, 2015–2019, which supported increased SME access to trade credit, export credit insurance, and related products.

The TA also built upon earlier, broader TA supporting financial sector development in Pakistan, which produced a draft operational roadmap for EXIMBP.

At completion, the TA remained aligned with the CPS for Pakistan, 2021–2025, which aimed to strengthen key trading-facilitating institutions such as the EXIMBP,7 and with the updated Pakistan Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2020–2025, which prioritized its operationalisation. The TA was also in line with the commitments made by the government to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the transfer of export refinancing facilities away from SBP and to EXIMBP.

The intended TA outcome of operationalising the EXIMBP was not achieved at TA completion. Although three (outputs 1, 2 and 4) of four outputs were fully delivered, the output of enacting legislation or establishing a legal framework for EXIMBP was delivered late, and the certificate of commencement was not acquired at TA completion.

The TA responded to the government’s request for support to operationalise EXIMBP and was aligned with national development priorities and with ADB’s CPS for Pakistan. However, the design did not adequately account for risks, which could have been anticipated.

It was likewise too ambitious for aiming to operationalise EXIMBP, including the enactment of the EXIMBP act within a short implementation period (original) of 14 months. There was weakness in the sequencing of activities and outputs. These seriously affected the delivery of the outcome.

At TA completion, the outcome was still not achieved. The EXIMBP Act was eventually passed, almost three years after the original TA completion period, and the subsequent issuance of a certificate of commencement for EXIMBP operations was expected by January 2023. On the basis of the compounded rating, this validation assesses the TA less than successful.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023