World: China lends cash-strapped Pakistan $700 million

Coming as a much-needed increase in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, The China Development Bank has deposited $700 million in Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s finance minister, tweeted, describing the deposit as a “lifeline” for Pakistan.

The deposit comes at a time when Pakistan has been suffering with its external debt and barely has the funds to pay for imports for more than three weeks.

“AlhamdoLilah! Funds $700 million [were] received today by [the] State Bank of Pakistan from [the] China Development Bank,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar tweeted regarding the financing from China.

Dar detailed earlier this week that all procedures for a $700 million credit facility for Pakistan had been completed and approved by the board of the China Development Bank. The loan is likely to increase the nation’s dwindling forex reserves, and the funds are said to arrive at the State Bank of Pakistan this week itself.

As of February 17, forex reserves for Pakistan stood at $3.25 billion, a number that the coalition government had been attempting to increase. The south asian nation, however, has been unsuccessful in doing so due to a delay in the renewal of the $6.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, according to media reports.