WEB DESK

China will provide 2.5 billion dollars (USD) loans to Pakistan to boost the foreign exchange reserves of its “all-weather ally”. Pakistan is currently seeing depleted foreign cash reserves and mounting external debt.

The country’s USD 8.12 billion reserves are below the minimum level that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) prescribe. Due to this, the WB and the Asian Development Bank are not providing loans for budget financing.

With the anticipated USD 2.5 billion deposits, China’s contribution in this fiscal year alone would surge to USD 4.5 billion. In the past five years, China has emerged as Pakistan’s single largest saviour in times of economic crisis.