Author: Sajjad Hussain
Saudi Arabia has extended the $3 billion financing facility for Pakistan for a “reasonable period”, according to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
Saudi Arabia helped Pakistan with a $3 billion financing facility in April this year as Islamabad had to repay $3.5 billion to the United Arab Emirates. Initially, it was provided for three months.
“It has been extended, and for a reasonable period,” Aurangzeb told journalists outside the Parliament.
“You don’t need to worry as to for how long, given the kind of strategic relationship we have,” Dawn quoted him as saying in response to a query that the financing facility had already matured on October 31.
Saudi Arabia had also provided another $5 billion to bridge the financing gap, and it had already been extended until 2028, Aurangzeb said.
When asked if Pakistan had also sought additional support, the minister denied it, saying this was not needed as foreign exchange reserves covered more than three months of imports and would be strengthened to provide a four-month import cover by the end of the year through capital markets, according to Dawn.
Responding to another question about the prospects of the $10 billion Exchange Stabilisation Support Facility (ESSF) requested from the US in July this year, he sought to lower expectations that he himself had raised over the past several months.
“What we asked for back in July and were looking at was the market access. We have got the market access,” he said, referring to the $3 billion bond Pakistan issued in September against orders worth $6 billion.
“If that (ESSF) materialises, fantastic, it will be a liquidity support facility.