Pakistan’s Finance Minister confirms rollover of $2bn Chinese loan amid IMF uncertainty

ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that China rolled over a $2 billion loan that matured last week in a sigh of relief for the cash-strapped country as the government is desperately looking for funds to avert debt default.

The country’s finance czar confirmed that Beijing had rolled over a $2 billion loan to the South Asian nation on March 23, refuting media reports which claimed that the loan was still in the pipeline.

Addressing the upper house of Parliament, the PML-N stalwart revealed that Islamabad has two kinds of businesses with Beijing; one is related to state administration of foreign exchange and the other is with Chinese commercial banks.

He mentioned that states do not share such details publicly in light of understanding with the Chinese government.

The recent development holds significance as the fifth most populous nation is facing a balance of payment crisis, back-breaking inflation, and depleting forex reserves.

Meanwhile, the government continued negotiations with the IMF for the release of the bailout package but the talks stretched.

Pakistan requests China to rollover $6.3 billion loans