Islamabad:
The Minister of Finance, Muhammad Aurangzeb, asked China on Wednesday to overthrow the guaranteed debt and also increase the current size of the 4.3 billion dollars exchange agreement to amortize the low exchange reserves.
The requests were made to the Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to officials of the Ministry of Finance. The bilateral meeting has remained “very positive and constructive”, said those responsible.
Aurangzeb also invited the ministers of Chinese and Saudi finance to visit Pakistan.
The high -level commitment focused on strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and the reaffirmation of partners’ support for the Pakistan reform program as part of the IMF (EFF) prolonged fund (EFF) program, according to a press release published by the Ministry of Finance after the meeting.
This added in his meeting with Lan Fo’an, the Minister of Finance of China, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb recalled that his last meeting held in Beijing in July 2024 and thanked the government of China for its unwavering support for socio-economic development in Pakistan and for its solid support for the Pakistani economic reform program supported by the efficiency of the IMF.
China has assured the IMF to overthrow the $ 4 billion in Pakistan.
The officials said that among the questions that Pakistan had taken with China, reprogramount of the Chinese bank debt Exim which matured during the mandate of the IMF program and increased the size of the bilateral currency.
The Minister of Finance also made these requests last year, but so far, the official approvals have not been given by China.
The government requests the reprogramming of the debt of the Export-Importation Bank (Exim) which matures until September 2027.
The officials said that the question of increasing limits under the currency exchange agreement had also been addressed with the Chinese authorities. They did not disclose the additional amount that Pakistan was looking for a loan under the exchange agreement. Pakistan has already used Chinese commercial facility of 30 billion CNY or $ 4.3 billion to repay its debts.
In October of last year, the Minister of Finance asked China to increase this limit by 10 billion additional CNY, resulting in $ 1.4 billion at the current exchange rate. If Beijing accepts, the total installation will reach approximately $ 5.7 billion.
Pakistan’s official official exchange reserves remain low to around $ 10.6 billion, which wants to increase more than $ 14 billion in the next two months on the back of new loans and higher funds. The reassessment of the Exim bank debt will also help to fill the external financing lake identified during the IMF program period.
Pakistan’s external financing lake scheduled for September in September of last year is expected to reduce considerably, the World Bank, the World Bank has planned a current account of $ 800 million for this exercise compared to previous estimates of approximately $ 3.7 billion in deficit.
The Minister also provided an update on the status of the Panda obligation and asked for the support of the Banque Populaire de China (PBOC) to accelerate the issue process, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Aurangzeb also informed the Chinese party of the main reforms undertaken in the fields of taxation, energy, privatization, public finances and public enterprises (public enterprises), the Ministry of Finance said.
The Ministry of Finance has also published its monthly economic prospects, predicting gradual recovery in large -scale manufacturing in the middle of the drop in production in recent years.
The report noted that large -scale manufacturing prospects could gradually improve in the coming months, recovery should be progressive in the midst of continuous annual contraction and a recent monthly decrease.
He said that improvements in high -frequency indicators – such as increasing automotive production, imports of raw materials and a more accommodating monetary position – indicates cautious optimism.
Improving weather conditions and the increase in water availability is likely to support higher and better agricultural crops contributing to overall economic growth.
The Ministry of Finance said that inflation should remain between 1.5 and 2% in April, with a possible increase of 3 to 4% in May 2025.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund This week reduced Pakistan inflation projections to 5.1 to 5.5%.
The Ministry of Finance said that exports and funding of funds should maintain their upward trend in the coming months by keeping the current account in the managed range. Shipments of funds last month reached the high record level of $ 4.1 billion.
Muhammad Aurangzeb also held an important meeting with the Saudi finance minister Mohammed Aljadaan, Washington, DC, according to the Ministry of Finance. The Minister thanked Aljadaan for the longtime support of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan in its continuation of economic development, including the support of the IMF program, he added.
Saudi Arabia has agreed to overthrow a cash deposit of $ 5 billion for one more year.
