Cash-strapped Pakistan seeks $4 bn loan from Middle East banks to meet financial obligations
IMF's approval. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team had a virtual meeting with Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank, on Thursday, the Dawn newspaper reported on Friday.
On Wednesday, a similar interaction was held with Mashreq Bank President and Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal. Both meetings had been arranged to «discuss the economic outlook and explore investment opportunities in Pakistan».
For the current fiscal year, Pakistan has pitched about USD 20 billion in foreign borrowing in the budget, besides another USD 3 billion rollover from the UAE that was reported separately for the balance of payments. With this much borrowing, Pakistan's reserves are estimated to grow to about USD 19-20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.
Of the USD 20 billion estimate, about USD 4 billion is targeted to be arranged through foreign commercial borrowing during the current fiscal year and another USD 1 billion in international bonds.
Separately, The Express Tribune newspaper reported that Pakistan begins seeking commercial loans from Middle Eastern banks to bridge the external financing gap, as the IMF indefinitely postponed the approval of a USD 7 billion EFF this week after Islamabad failed to secure the additional USD 2 billion in financing and the rollover of USD 12 billion in cash deposits from Saudi Arabia, China, and the UAE.
The finance minister now hopes that the IMF may approve the new EFF next month.
Pakistan has also intensified its engagement with foreign commercial banks, though
