Islamabad (Web Desk): Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says that the Chinese bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has approved rollover of $1.3 billion loan for Pakistan after completing the necessary formalities.
In a tweet on Friday night, the minister said that Pakistan will receive this amount in three instalments. The first instalment of $500 million has been received by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Dar added that the loan facility will increase forex reserves.
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Earlier on Friday, the finance minister said that though the country was passing through a precarious situation but there was no chance of default.
Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, he said that Pakistan would never default.
“Yes, we are in a precarious position as reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) depleted to $2.8 billion. Although the total national reserves were still at $ 9 billion as commercial banks were holding around $5.5 billion,” the minister sketched out the current economic situation which requires external inflows to make debt repayments.
He said that the economic situation of the country should not be viewed separately rather it should be analyzed keeping in view the global inflation and catastrophic floods in the country.
Dar said that the floods caused around $30 billion in losses and hundred of billion of rupees were spent for immediate rescue and relief.
He said the country needed around $16 billion for the next three to four years, out of which Pakistan would manage half of the amount whereas the remaining would be given by donors.
The minister said Pakistan had recently received $700 million from China which helped in shoring up the foreign reserves of the country.
