ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan has received assurances from China and Kuwait to roll over loans worth $4.3 billion, adding to the financial support already secured from Saudi Arabia, according to sources in the Ministry of Finance.
Under the proposed arrangements, China will roll over $4 billion, while Kuwait is expected to extend the rollover of a $300 million loan. Together with Saudi Arabia's $3 billion commitment, Pakistan is expected to secure a total of $7.3 billion in loan rollovers from the three countries.
Finance Ministry sources said the $4 billion Chinese loan is due for rollover in March 2027. The loans from all three countries are expected to be extended for approximately one year.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is also expected to receive $1.21 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December, according to the sources.
The rollover arrangements form part of Pakistan's external financing requirements for the current fiscal year, which include total payments of around $21 billion. Of this amount, $7.3 billion is expected to be covered through loan rollovers.
A day earlier, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb told reporters at Parliament House that Saudi Arabia had already rolled over its $3 billion loan. He said the matter had been deferred until an appropriate time following discussions with the Saudi finance minister.
Aurangzeb described his meeting with his Saudi counterpart as positive and emphasised the strong relationship between the two countries. He also indicated that Pakistan did not currently require additional financial assistance from Saudi Arabia.
The finance minister further stated that Pakistan has foreign exchange reserves sufficient to cover approximately three months of imports.
He added that the country faces annual Eurobond repayments of around 1.5 billion euros, and the government is working to ensure that future administrations do not face difficulties in meeting these obligations.
Regarding the IMF programme, Aurangzeb said the Fund's Executive Board meeting could take place in December, although an exact date has not yet been confirmed.