ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday his country had received $700 million funds from the China Development Bank, which would help shore up dwindling forex reserves of the South Asian country.
Dar this week said all formalities had been completed and Beijing had approved the financing of $700 million for the cash-strapped South Asian country.
“Funds $ 700 million received today by State Bank of Pakistan from China Development Bank,” the finance minister said on Twitter.
Cash-strapped Pakistan has been making desperate attempts to secure external financing to stave off a balance-of-payment crisis, with its forex reserves depleting to $3.2 billion, currency hitting new lows against dollar and inflation at a multi-decade high.
The country is immediately looking for a $1.2 billion loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of its $7 billion bailout program, to keep the economy afloat.
The release of IMF tranche, stalled since late last year, will unlock funding from other multilateral and bilateral donors too.
