In a move that would create some much-needed room for Pakistan’s cramped fiscal space, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) on Thursday rolled over their deposit of USD 2 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), reported Geo News.
“Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has rolled over their deposit of $2 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan, as discussed by #PM @CMShehbaz with His Highness the President of UAE during last week’s official visit to UAE! Long live Pak-UAE friendship!,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced in a tweet.
The finance minister disclosed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had discussed the rollover with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during his recent visit to the country.
It is pertinent to mention here that the UAE President had agreed to roll over the existing loan of USD 2 billion and provide a USD 1 billion additional loan, reported Geo News.
The UAE’s financial support offered some respite to the country still reeling from devastating nationwide floods that have caused more than USD 30 billion of damage.
The International Monetary Fund’s ninth review to clear the release of a further USD 1.1 billion tranche of funds to Pakistan has been pending since September, so external financing is crucial for the country’s broken economy.
Presently, the State Bank has foreign exchange reserves of four and a half billion dollars and these Foreign exchange reserves with the central bank are equivalent to three weeks’ worth of import bills.
Foreign exchange reserves held by SBP fell to a critical level of USD 4.3 billion, the bank said, barely enough for three weeks of imports, reported Geo News.
Net foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks stood at USD 5.8 billion, and total liquid reserves at USD 10.1 billion, the bank added. (ANI)
