China rolls over $2.4B loan to Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – China rolled over a $2.4 billion loan to Pakistan maturing in the next two fiscal years, the South Asian nation's finance minister said on Thursday.

"Chinese EXIM Bank has rolled over for 2 years principal amounts of following loans totalling US$ 2.4 billion which are due in next 2 fiscal years," Ishaq Dar tweeted.

He added that Islamabad will make interest payments only in both years.

The South Asian country's foreign reserves have reached over $14 billion after a crucial financial assistance deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late last month.

Of these $14 billion, some $8.7 billion are held by the country's central bank, while the remaining are with the commercial banks.

Islamabad has received $1.2 billion of the total $3 billion IMF package while the remaining $1.8 billion would be released after two reviews in November this year and February 2024.

On June 30, Pakistan signed a nine-month IMF agreement under a standby arrangement for $3 billion, which was later approved by the IMF board.

The deal will help shore up the South Asian country's depleting foreign reserves and contain a mounting balance of payment crisis.