islamabadPakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received $700 million from the China Development Bank (CDB). Pakistan-based The Express Tribune newspaper reported that this comes as a much-needed boost to the country’s foreign exchange reserves as the country suffers from an economic crisis. Dar took to his Twitter to make the announcement.
He wrote: “Alhamdo lillah! State Bank of Pakistan received $700 million in funding from China Development Bank today.” Dar had said in an earlier tweet that the loan would “increase” Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
Alhamdulillah!
State Bank of Pakistan today received $700 million in funding from China Development Bank. https://t.co/7eLwWkSFgO— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) February 24, 2023
According to The Express Tribune, earlier this month, the country’s foreign exchange reserves plunged to an alarming level of below $3 billion for the first time in nine years, leaving import capacity in little over two weeks.
Pakistan has sought to secure assurances from Saudi Arabia and China for more loans, as the government seeks to revive the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. South Asia Press reported that the current situation in Pakistan is the most difficult situation faced by the country in the last two decades, stating that the country is facing economic crisis, political chaos and increasing number of terrorist attacks in the northwestern regions. Its resources have been exhausted.
Apart from this, according to the report, the economic decline of the country has a direct impact on the public.
ALSO READ: ‘Is Pakistan a country or…?’: MQM chief Altaf Hussain calls it a country of slaves
The South Asia press recently reported that the floods in Pakistan are a serious blow to the cash-strapped nation already struggling with high debt, adding that the country’s Planning Commission, Agriculture, Food, Livestock and Fisheries Farming sectors have suffered a loss of USD 3.7 billion. The long-term damage in the floods is estimated to be around USD 9.24 billion.
In December 2022, inflation in the country stood at 24.5 per cent, almost 12.3 per cent over the previous year, the report said, adding that common people were hit the most by the worst flour prices in the country- ever food crisis
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva has said that the funding agency has asked Pakistan to take steps to be able to function as a country and not slide into a dangerous place where it will have to go into debt restructuring. be required, The News International, a Pakistan daily, reported.
“My sympathies are with the people of Pakistan. They have been devastated by the floods, which have affected a third of the country’s population,” Georgieva said in an interview with an international broadcaster.
“We are pushing for two things – number one, increasing tax revenue, because people who are making good money in the public or private sectors need to contribute to the economy, and number two, saving precious resources by doing away with subsidies. Fair distribution to those who do not need them. It should not be that subsidies benefit the rich. It should benefit the poor [who] benefit from them,” she said, as quoted by The News International newspaper. “And there, we are very clear. We want the poor people of Pakistan to be protected.”