Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Tuesday that a bank in China rolled over a $600 million loan to Pakistan, boosting the cash-strapped country’s forex reserves.
The premier was addressing the launching ceremony of the Prime Minister’s Youth Sports Initiative in Islamabad, where he announced to allocate more funds for the development of the youth if he comes into power again.
“Yesterday, Exim Bank of China rolled over $600 million to Pakistan, which increased our foreign currency reserves,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said and added that assistance from friendly countries is improving economic indicators.
However, he didn’t elaborate further on when this payment was due.
The country is showing signs of economic stability after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3 billion bailout programme and transferred the first tranche of $1.2 billion under a nine-month stand-by arrangement.
Having teetered on the brink of a sovereign debt default, Pakistan earlier this month also received $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates and $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, as both were reassured by the agreement struck between Islamabad and the IMF at the end of June.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank slightly increased by $61 million to stand at $4.524 billion in the week ending July 7, the State Bank of Pakistan said last Thursday.
