Kakar requests China to roll over $2bn loan

ISLAMABAD: After requesting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to roll over $2 billion in loans for Pakistan, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has also written a similar letter to his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang.

In his letter to China’s premier, the prime minister has requested that Beijing roll over Pakistan’s $2 billion loan for a year, sources told Geo News on Friday.

The Chinese government, according to the sources, is expected to roll over the aforementioned loan amount for a year soon. The deposit time for the loan is slated to complete on March 23, 2024.

The sources added that the officials from Pakistan’s finance ministry and authorities in China are in contact about the matter.

PM Kakar, in his letter to the Chinese premier, thanked his government for financial support, the finance ministry sources said. The sources, citing the letter, stated: “China gave a loan to the government of Pakistan in a difficult economic situation.”

A total of $4 billion worth of funds in loans, as per the sources, has been kept as a safe deposit, which has reduced Pakistan’s external payments burden.

“The refinancing of the commercial loans worth $1.3 billion and a Chinese government loan of $1 billion would help Pakistan avert immediate default,” a senior government official told The News in May 2023.