Pakistan-China
Pakistan govt seeks $6.3b China debt rollover
Islamabad: Pakistan has urged its all-weather ally China to rollover its USD 6.3 billion debt that is maturing in the next eight months as part of its overall plan to arrange USD 34 billion in the current fiscal year to meet its debt and external trade-related obligations, media reports said.
Another proposal was also under consideration to seek a fresh Chinese loan to repay the maturing bilateral debt during the fiscal year 2022-23, ending on June 30, The Express Tribune reported.
The issue of rollover and refinancing of nearly USD 6.3 billion commercial loans and the central bank debt was discussed in a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong and Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Pakistani newspaper reported.
The USD 3.3 billion Chinese commercial loans and three USD 3 billion worth SAFE deposits loans were maturing from now till June next year, according to the Ministry of Finance officials.
The SAFE deposit is on the balance sheet of the central bank. In addition to this, over USD 900 million in bilateral Chinese debt was becoming due during the current fiscal year.
For the current fiscal year, the International Monetary Fund and the Ministry of Finance have estimated Pakistan’s gross external financing requirements in the range of USD 32 billion to USD 34 billion, excluding the impact of the recent devastating floods.
Sources told The Express Tribune that this time the government was seeking rollover of the USD 3 billion SAFE deposit for more than one year, preferably for three to five years.
China has extended a total of USD 4 billion in SAFE deposits and out of this USD 1 billion has already been rolled over in July this year.
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