ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to invest $5 billion in an oil refinery project in Pakistan by the end of 2019, said UAE’s top diplomat while talking to Arab News on Thursday.
“We are going to launch very soon one of the biggest investments in a refinery project in Hub (a town in Balochistan). It is going to be a $5 billion investment between Mubadala Petroleum Company of Abu Dhabi, Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) and OMV [OMV Pakistan Exploration Gesellschaft],” UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi said.
PARCO Coastal Refinery is among UAE’s major investments in the country. It was incorporated in Pakistan in May 1974, as a public limited company. Today, PARCO is considered the fulcrum in Pakistan’s strategic oil supply and logistics.
Mubadala Petroleum is an international oil and gas company based in the UAE.
The plan is to set up a deep-conversion, state-of-the-art refinery that would have an output of 250,000-300,000 barrels per day.
Al-Zaabi said the project was the result of extensive discussions between Mubadala Petroleum and Pakistan’s petroleum ministry along with PARCO and OMV.
“This project will show the strength of UAE-Pakistan relations and how the UAE is focusing on investment in and future of Pakistan.”
Pakistan has sought local and foreign investment in oil and gas sector. It is also offering good rates to oil and gas exploration and production companies.
“The two governments are finalizing the minute details of this refinery project. Many meetings have taken place regarding this project,” Al-Zaabi said, adding that a UAE delegation, headed by Musabbeh Al Kaabi, the chief executive officer of Mubadala Petroleum, visited Pakistan a few months ago and met with the board of investment chairman and Pakistan’s petroleum minister.
“They have discussed this project in detail. We are going to launch it very soon,” he added.
UAE to invest $5 billion in Pakistan's oil refinery, says envoy
UAE to invest $5 billion in Pakistan's oil refinery, says envoy
- PARCO Coastal Refinery is among UAE’s major investments in the country
- The oil refinery project in Hub, Balochistan, will have an output of 250,000-300,000 barrels per day
IMF board to approve Pakistan reviews today ‘if all goes well,’ say officials
- IMF’s executive board is scheduled to meet today to discuss the disbursement of $1.2 billion
- Economists say the money will boost Pakistan’s forex reserves, send positive signals to investors
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board is scheduled to meet today, Monday, to approve the release of about $1.2 billion for Pakistan under the lender’s two loan facilities, said IMF officials who requested not to be named.
The IMF officials confirmed the executive board was going to decide on the Fund’s second review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and first review under the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), a financing tool that provides long-term, low-cost loans to help countries address climate risks.
“The board meeting will be taking place as planned,” an IMF official told Arab News.
“The board is on today yes as per the calendar,” said another.
A well-placed official at Pakistan’s finance ministry also confirmed the board meeting was scheduled today to discuss the next tranche for Pakistan.
The IMF executive board’s meeting comes nearly two months after a staff-level agreement (SLA) was signed between the two sides in October.
Procedurally, the SLAs are subject to approval by the executive board, though it is largely viewed as a formality.
“If all goes well, the reviews should pass,” said the second IMF official.
On approval, Pakistan will have access to about $1 billion under the EFF and about $200 million under the RSF, the IMF said in a statement in October after the SLA.
The fresh transfer will bring total disbursements under the two arrangements to about $3.3 billion, it added.
Experts see smooth sailing for Pakistan in terms of the passing of the two reviews, saying the IMF disbursements will help the cash-strapped nation to strengthen its balance of payments position.
Samiullah Tariq, group head of research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company Limited, said the IMF board’s approval will show that Pakistan’s economy is on the right path.
“It obviously will help strengthen [the country’s] external sector, the balance of payments,” he told Arab News.
Until recently, Pakistan grappled with a macroeconomic crisis that drained its financial resources and triggered a balance of payments crisis.
Pakistan has reported financial gains since 2022, recording current account surpluses and taming inflation that touched unprecedented levels in mid-2023.
Economists also viewed the IMF’s bailout packages as crucial for cash-strapped Pakistan, which has relied heavily on financing from bilateral partners such as Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates, as well as multilateral lenders.
Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development, last week extended the term of its $3 billion deposit for another year to help Pakistan boost its foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $14.5 billion as of November 28, according to State Bank of Pakistan statements.
“In our view this [IMF tranche] will be approved,” said Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based brokerage Topline Securities Limited.
“This will help strengthen reserves and will eventually help a rating upgrade going forward,” he said.
The IMF board’s nod, Talreja said, would also send a signal to the international and local investors regarding the continuation of the reform agenda by Pakistan’s government.
