Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on Friday that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received the second installment of $500 million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
In a tweet, the finance minister said that the inflow of funds will boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank’s reserves stood at $4.319 billion on March 10. The inflow of $500 will likely push the reserves closer to $5 billion and take Pakistan’s import cover to over one month.
It is pertinent to mention here that ICBC recently approved the rollover of the $1.3 billion facility which was repaid by Pakistan in the last few months. The Chinese bank issued the first installment of $500 to Pakistan on March 3.
It is expected that the Ministry of Finance will now start documentation for the final installment of $300 million.