In a bid to address its persistent external financing issues, Pakistan has formally requested a supplementary loan of 10 billion yuan (CNY) (approximately USD 1.4 billion) from China.
The announcement was made on Saturday, underscoring the fiscal pressures the nation continues to face, the Express Tribune reported.
During a meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Finance, Liao Min, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb urged the Chinese side to elevate the limits under the Currency Swap Agreement to CNY 40 billion. As stated by the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan has already fully utilised the existing CNY 30 billion (USD 4.3 billion) Chinese trade facility for debt repayment and is now seeking to raise this limit by an additional CNY 10 billion, which translates to USD 1.4 billion based on current exchange rates.
The finance minister’s appeal occurred on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. If approved by Beijing, the total facility would amount to approximately USD 5.7 billion.
This request is not unprecedented; Pakistan has previously sought increases in its debt limit, but Beijing has declined these appeals in the past. Notably, this request follows closely behind China’s extension of the current USD 4.3 billion (CNY 30 billion) facility for an additional three years. This extension was formalised during the recent visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, which also saw the debt repayment period for Pakistan extended to 2027.
