第二十二条军规(1)

Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt. Few countries are as familiar with the IMF as Pakistan,
他们说熟悉会滋生轻视。很少有国家像巴基斯坦这样熟悉国际货币基金组织(IMF)
which has previously obtained 21 loans from the fund, as many as Argentina.
巴基斯坦之前从IMF获得了21笔贷款,和阿根廷一样多。
On May 12th this familiarity deepened further.
5月12日,这种熟悉进一步深化。
The government, led by Imran Khan, a former cricketer who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party,
由巴基斯安正义运动党领袖,前板球运动员伊姆兰·汗领导的政府表示
said it had reached a deal to borrow $6bn more over three years.
已达成协议,将在未来三年再借60亿美元。
The agreement now awaits formal approval from the fund's bosses in Washington
该协议现在正等待着华盛顿总部总裁的批准
and the support of other international lenders, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
以及世界银行和亚洲开发银行等其他国际银行的支持。
The loan will relieve Pakistan's dollar shortage but do little to improve the IMF's standing in the country.
这笔贷款将缓解巴基斯坦的美元短缺,但无助于改善IMF在该国的地位。
In return for its money, the fund expects the government to raise tax revenues and utility prices,
作为回报,IMF希望该国政府增加税收,提高公共设施价格,
impose discipline on provincial spending— and let the currency fall, if need be.
对省级支出实施纪律约束 —— 如果需要的话,让货币贬值。

That will help narrow Pakistan's wide trade and budget deficits.
这将帮助缩小巴基斯坦广泛的贸易和预算赤字。
But it will also curb growth and increase inflation in the short term.
但也将在短期内抑制增长,加剧通胀。
Targets include cutting the budget deficit (before interest payments)
目标包括在下一财政年度(从7月开始)
to 0.6% of GDP next fiscal year (which starts in July) from the 1.9% that the IMF reportedly expects for this year.
将预算赤字从国际货币基金组织今年预计的1.9%削减到GDP的0.6%。
The government has talked about removing tax breaks worth about 350bn rupees ($2.5bn or 1% of GDP)
政府已讨论取消价值3500亿卢比(25亿美元或GDP的1%)的税收优惠
and raising the price of gas and electricity for large consumers.
并提高大用户使用天然气和电力的价格。
It has pledged to give the central bank more autonomy in its fight against inflation, currently over 8%.
政府承诺给中央银行更多自主权来抵抗通货膨胀,目前通货膨胀超过8%。
It will also let market forces dictate the rupee's exchange rate, which has been devalued by 18% against the dollar in the past year.
其还将让市场力量主导卢比汇率,在过去一年中,卢比对美元已贬值18%。
To ease the public's pain, the IMF will allow more spending on welfare schemes,
为了缓解公众的痛苦,IMF将允许在福利项目中有更多支出,
such as a cash-transfer programme named after Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister who was assassinated in 2007.
比如以前总理贝娜齐尔·布托的名字命名的现金转移项目,贝娜齐尔·布托在2007年遭到暗杀。
But her son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who now leads her party in opposition, seems unimpressed.
但是她的儿子,反对党领袖比拉瓦尔·布托·扎尔达里似乎对此无动于衷。
After the government this month appointed a former IMF official to head the central bank,
本月该国政府任命一名前IMF官员担任央行行长后,
Mr Bhutto Zardari accused it of surrendering Pakistan's autonomy. "How can IMF negotiate with IMF?" he asked.
布托·扎尔达里指责政府放弃了巴基斯坦的自治权。“IMF怎么能够和IMF谈判呢?”他问道。
A cartoon in the Friday Times, a local news weekly, showed Christine Lagarde, head of the fund, negotiating with herself.
当地新闻周刊《星期五泰晤士报》刊登的一幅漫画中,IMF总裁克里斯蒂娜·拉加德正在与自己谈判。


注:该文值得读者细细品味,特别是数字有关的句子。

来源:可可英语

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