Pakistan wants China to rollover $2bn deposits

In order to meet IMF financing requirements, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has requested the assistance of Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong in securing the rollover of $2 billion in State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deposits due in March 2023, according to state media.

Following the countrywide cataclysmic floods, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Pakistan to seek debt relief from its close partner China.

Blinken made the remarks on September 16 after meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Washington. According to an official statement issued by the Pakistan Finance Ministry, the Chinese Ambassador paid a visit to Pakistan's Finance Minister at the Finance Division, as reported by The News.


Ishaq Dar informed the Ambassador of the effects of Pakistan's unprecedented floods on infrastructure, agriculture, lives and property, as well as the cost to the economy as a whole.

He also expressed gratitude to the Chinese leadership for its assistance in refinancing the syndicate facility of RMB 15 billion ($2.24 billion) to Pakistan and requested the Ambassador's assistance in facilitating the rollover of $2 billion in SAFE China deposits in March 2023, according to The News.

In line with the recent trend, the country's foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by 4.07 percent once again.

The SBP's foreign currency reserves were $8,005.9 million on September 23, down $341 million from $8,346.4 on September 16, according to data released by the SBP on Thursday.