Pakistan targets $4bn from Middle East lenders

Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Pakistan aims to raise up to $4 billion from commercial lenders in the Middle East by fiscal year 2025, the State Bank of Pakistan governor Jameel Ahmad has said.

The country’s gross financing needs would be met over the next fiscal year and in the medium term, he told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China have already rolled over their loans to support Islamabad’s $7 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

---

---

Pakistan holds $12 billion in bilateral loans, which have been extended over the past few years. 

Ahmad said that similar assurances are anticipated for the next three years, which will give the government sufficient time to stabilise its finances.

He said that talks are in advanced stages to secure an additional $2 billion in external financing from the IMF.

This month, finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that the IMF has identified an external financing gap of $3-5 billion, which will need to be filled over 37 months to secure the $7 billion extended fund facility.

• Saudi offers to buy stake in Pakistan’s $6.5bn mining project
• UAE and Qatar in race for Pakistan’s privatisation deals
• UAE commits to invest $10bn in Pakistan’s economy

The IMF package is expected to be released by the end of August or early September, the minister said.

In November 2023, the Saudi Fund for Development extended the period for its deposit of $3 billion to Pakistan for another year.

The UAE deposited $1 billion in Pakistan’s central bank, finance minister Ishaq Dar said in July 2023.