Pakistan to repay $500 million loan to China

Dunya News

The loan in the form of a deposit was taken in January 2009.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday directed the State Bank of Pakistan to repay a loan of US$ 500 million to the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), upon its maturity on January 23, 2017.

The loan in the form of a deposit was taken in January 2009, due to the weak current account situation at that time and placed with the State Bank of Pakistan. Since then the deposit was rolled over annually, with the latest maturity date set at January 23, 2017.

Instead of yet another roll over for a year, it has been decided to repay the loan, in view of the strong macro economic performance and stable foreign exchange reserves position of the country.

Finance Minister has already obtained approval of the Prime Minister for the repayment of the said loan and has directed the State Bank of Pakistan to make payment of US$500 million to SAFE China.

The Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has formally expressed his deep appreciation to the Prime Minister and Government of China for the critical support provided through the SAFE deposit for stabilizing the current account since 2009.