New Delhi: The Economically weak country Pakistan has sought the financial support of about USD 21 billion from China. “Islamabad has requested a rollover of existing loans of $10.735 billion and $ 10 billion as deposit fund to meet future needs,” says a media report.
During Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China in February, several agendas were discussed – including a rollover request of all financing facilities upon maturity. One SAFE (China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange) deposit of USD 2.0 billion will be maturing on March 23, 2022.
According to the experts, the financial burden of Pakistan may be raised after taking a huge amount of loans from China. China and Saudi Arabia had already granted a huge loan to Pakistan in the past few years. In December 2021, Saudi Arabia granted a loan of USD 3 billion to Pakistan.
Three-year commercial loan of People’s Renminbi (RMB) 15 billion equivalents to USD 2.235 billion from a consortium of China Development Bank (CDB), Bank Of China, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) is maturing on March 25, 2022.
(_Vinayak)