China has rolled over $3.4 billion in loans to Pakistan, providing a crucial boost to the country’s foreign exchange reserves and helping it meet key conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to two senior Pakistani government officials, reports DAWN.
The rollover includes $2.1 billion that has remained with Pakistan’s central bank for the past three years, and $1.3 billion in commercial debt that was previously repaid by Islamabad just two months ago, the officials told Reuters on Sunday. The officials requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an official announcement.
In addition to the Chinese assistance, Pakistan has also received $1 billion from Middle Eastern commercial banks and $500 million from multilateral lenders, one of the officials said.
“This brings our reserves in line with the IMF target,” the official noted.
The influx of foreign financing, particularly from China, is seen as essential in helping Pakistan stabilize its fragile economy and maintain sufficient foreign exchange reserves. The IMF had stipulated that Pakistan’s reserves must exceed $14 billion by June 30, the end of the current fiscal year, as part of the ongoing $7 billion IMF bailout program.
Pakistani authorities have claimed that the country’s economic fundamentals are improving through structural reforms introduced under the IMF arrangement. The loan rollovers and new inflows now position Pakistan more comfortably to meet its near-term external financing needs.
An official announcement from the government is expected soon.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
