[🇵🇰] International Loans / Grants

[ghazi]

Source : https://arynews.tv/china-rolls-over-2-billion-loan-to-pakistan-says-finance-minister/

China rolls over $2 billion loan to Pakistan, says finance minister​

Reuters
February 29, 2024

China has rolled over a $2 billion loan to Pakistan, caretaker finance minister Shamshad Akhtar confirmed on Thursday.
The $2 billion loan was due in March and has been extended for one year. Beijing had communicated the decision to Islamabad, sources say.

Pakistan’s cash-strapped economy is struggling to stabilise from a financial crisis and secured a $3 billion standby arrangement from the International Monetary Fund last summer.

Pakistan’s vulnerable external position means that securing financing from multilateral and bilateral partners will be one of the most urgent issues facing the next government, ratings agency Fitch said last week.

The development comes a month after Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in a letter penned to his Chinese counterpart, requested a rollover of a $2bln loan for a year.

Kakar’s letter also appreciated the steps of the Chinese government in helping Pakistan ease the burden of foreign payments.

It is to be noted that Pakistan acquired safe deposits of $4 billion from China to address the balance of payments issue.

 

[ghazi]

Pakistan to seek loan package plus climate finance from IMF​

Pakistan Observer
Feb 27, 2024

Pakistan will seek a loan package from the International Monetary Fund plus 1.5 billion dollars climate finance.
The country is exploring the possibility of increasing the program to $7.5-8 billion, reportedly seeking addition of climate finance in the next bailout package, sources said.

Climate finance will be sought to expand the loan package. The International Monetary Fund provides affordable long-term financing for countries dealing with climate change and pandemics.

According to sources, the authorities are looking for options to increase the upcoming IMF bailout package to 7.5 to 8 billion dollars with possible application for climate finance.

Sources said that the IMF Board of Governors in its meeting in December last year had approved enhancing the quota of all countries and this decision will also be implementable over Pakistan. “Under this decision Pakistan could borrow from 6 to 8 billion dollars”.

Pakistan is seeking a Bangladesh-style deal with the IMF for special financing of 1.5 billion dollars for climate finance, sources said.

Sources said that Pakistan have to allocate initial fund for betterment of the environment before seeking the loan from the global lending institution.

 

[Lulldapull]

We're requesting $8 billion from the IMF in new funding. Nobody seems to have any ideas on how to address our economic situation.

 

[Ghazi52]

Pakistan has 1-year debt rollover commitments from key lenders: Bloomberg report​

Reuters
August 6, 2024

Pakistan has secured commitments from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to roll over debt for a year, a boost for the government as it awaits final approval of a new $7 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Pakistan has a peculiar financial arrangement with these three countries in the shape of commercial loans and SAFE deposits that are rolled over every year and form a major part of the IMF programme in terms of external financing needs.

Pakistan has now requested the maturity period of these loans — $5bn from China, $4bn from Saudi Arabia, and $3bn from the UAE — to be extended to at least three years, offering greater predictability under the IMF programme.

Bloomberg said Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told reporters in Islamabad after a parliamentary committee meeting that the volume of rollovers would be the same as last year, adding that the country has $12bn in bilateral loans that have been extended for the past few years.

The federal government and the International Monetary Fund reached an agreement for a 37-month loan programme in July. Pakistan has relied heavily on IMF programmes for years, at times nearing the brink of sovereign default and having to turn to countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia to provide it with financing to meet external financing targets set by the IMF.

Bloomberg reported that Aurangzeb said the government expected to manage a financing gap of as much as $5bn during the fund’s three-year programme.

The IMF in its statement following the staff-level agreement said the new Extended Fund Facility programme was subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners”.

The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.

Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had written a letter to the Chinese government requesting debt reprofiling for Pakistan.

 

[Ghazi52]

ADB approves $320m to rehabilitate KP roads, improve climate resilience​

APP
September 13, 2024

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a $320 million loan to support the rehabilitation of roads in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and enhance their safety.

A press release issued by the ADB today said, “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Roads Development Project will upgrade around 900 kilometres of rural roads in the province that are susceptible to floods and are in poor condition.

“These cover key routes that link remote communities to education, health care, and markets,” the statement read, adding that the project included “measures to incorporate climate-resilient design, road safety enhancement, and sustainable maintenance practices”.

“Road transport is both a lifeline to the people and a key component of socioeconomic development in Pakistan,” ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said.

The official highlighted that the project will “reduce travel time, lower transportation costs, and increase access to economic opportunities for millions of residents” in KP.

 

[Ghazi52]

ADB to provide $2bn in annual assistance to Pakistan for climate resilience over next 3 years​

Dawn.com
September 18, 2024

President of Asian Development Bank, Mr Masatsugu Asakawa, called on President Asif Ali Zardari, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad on September 17, 2024 — PID
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it will provide $2 billion in annual assistance to Pakistan over the next three years to support infrastructure development and climate-resilient initiatives.

In 2022, massive floods triggered by climate change devastated several parts of Pakistan, killing 1,700 people, washing away swathes of agricultural land, affecting 33 million people, and incurring losses worth $30 billion, according to government estimates.

A report by the Policy and Strategy Committee (PSC) and the Oversight Board on Post-Flood Reconstruction Activities showed last week that the country had only received $10.9bn from international development partners out of the total estimated loss for post-flood reconstruction work, leaving a $19.1bn shortfall that has halted the rehabilitation of flood-affected communities in three provinces.

 

[Ghazi52]

 

[Ghazi52]

ADB approves $320m grant for road rehabilitation in K-P​

News Desk

In December 2023, it had approved $658.8m for projects focused on resource mobilisation, agriculture and school rehab