$500 million from China
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to receive $500 million from China, in a deal that excludes any rollover agreements.
The development surfaced in a meeting of Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. This meeting took place on the sidelines of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum.
The aforesaid inflow will help SBP reserves to cross the $8 billion mark, according to Mettis Global.
To recall, China rolled over a principal amount of $2.4bn loan to Pakistan for a period of two years, in order to foreign reserves on the back of an IMF deal which helped it avert a default.
At present, total foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose by $67.3mn or 0.88% WoW to $7.71bn during the week ended on October 13, 2023, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday.
On the other hand, the country’s total reserves diminished by $117.2m or 0.9% WoW to $12.91bn.
During today’s meeting, both countries discussed various dimensions of the multi-faceted Pakistan-China relationship and reaffirmed our longstanding and steadfast friendship, all-weather strategic cooperation, economic and trade ties, and CPEC.
PM Kakar reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue working with China to promote regional connectivity and economic development and to make Gwadar a connectivity hub for the socio-economic development of Pakistan.
President Xi reassured that China would continue supporting Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and development.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) saw its foreign exchange reserves rise by $67.3 million or 0.88% WoW to reach $7.71 billion by the week ending on October 13, 2023.
In contrast, the country’s total reserves decreased by $117.2 million or 0.9% WoW to $12.91 billion. Commercial banks witnessed a decrease in their reserves, which fell by $184.5 million or 3.43% WoW to $5.2 billion.
It’s worth noting that the country’s total liquid foreign reserves experienced a significant boost after the signing of the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
