China again bails out crisis-hit Pakistan

Pakistan has received a renewal of an additional USD 600 million loan from its all-weather ally China.

China has once again come to the rescue of cash-hungry Pakistan with another sizable loan.

Crisis-hit country Pakistan has received a renewal of an additional $600 million loan from its permanent ally China to help prop up the country’s foreign exchange reserves thanks to an IMF deal, PTI reported.

The report says the loan adds to more than $5 billion in loans Beijing has transferred to Pakistan in the past three months, helping the indebted nation avoid a default as negotiations to secure an IMF bailout drag on. .

Pakistan secured a last minute $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund on June 30, which then disbursed an initial down payment of about $1.2 billion.

Sharif said the Exim Bank of China provided the transfer, increasing the country’s foreign exchange reserves by $600 million.

“Our foreign exchange reserves are increasing, but we want to do it not through borrowing but by generating our income,” he told an event in Pakistan.

In addition to the IMF bailout and Chinese loan, financial support of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia and $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates after the IMF pact has helped stabilize Pakistan’s economy, according to the report, citing Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

The State Bank of Pakistan said the current account registered a surplus of $334 million in June.

Pakistan has been dealing with the economic crisis for a long time with the country’s problems increased by political instability.

The country has been in a major crisis when its former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power, apparently for trying to wrest power from the all-powerful Pakistan Army in the country.