Pakistan Receives $1.3 Billion Loan From ADB

(@fidahassanain)

Pakistan receives $1.3 billion loan from ADB

SBP confirms that $ 1.3 billion  amount of loan has been received from Manila based Asian Development Bank.  

KARACHI: (Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Dec 10th, 2019) Pakistan has received $ 1.3 billion loan from Asian Development Bank, taking the country foreign Currency reserves up that earlier fell down after Islamabad paid foreign debt repayment last week.

According to the details, State Bank of Pakistan confirmed the amount received by Pakistan saying that “$ 1.3 billion amount of loan has been received from Manila based Asian Development Bank,”.

The State Bank is going to record the outflow on its next weekly update on the reserves position scheduled for Thursday (Dec 12, 2019). However, the reserves exactly do not reflect the amount of over $ 1 billion paid in Sukuk by considering accounting-in other inflows and outflows during the week ended Dec 6.

It may be mentioned here that Pakistan last week successfully made a foreign debt repayment of over $1 billionn against maturing a five-year Sukuk on Dec 2. The Islamaic/Shariah-compliant bond was issued Dec 2014 at a rate of 6.75 % per year.

Asian Development Bank approved loan of $1.3 billion including $1 billion under its crisis response facility to support the country pay off debt. The ADB also approved $300 billion for energy sector reforms.

The bank also extended the crisis response facility for a period of seven years at an interest rate of London-Interbank offered Rate plus 2 per cent which comes to around 4 %. According to the sources, the said fund was lent for at least 20 years against interest rate of 2 per cent for energy sector.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.