China has extended a lifeline to Pakistan by rolling over $3.4 billion in loans, a move that, along with recent inflows from other sources, has pushed the country’s foreign exchange reserves to $14 billion, according to a Finance Ministry official.
Beijing renewed $2.1 billion already held by Pakistan’s central bank for the past three years and refinanced an additional $1.3 billion commercial loan that Islamabad had repaid two months earlier.
The official further confirmed that Pakistan also received $1 billion from Middle Eastern commercial banks and $500 million through multilateral financing channels.
“These inflows bring our reserves up to the IMF’s required level,” the official said.
The funding, particularly from China, is essential for meeting conditions under Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF program, which mandates that reserves exceed $14 billion by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Officials maintain that the economy is showing signs of stability due to reforms undertaken as part of the IMF agreement.
