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Published 09 May, 2023 02:15pm

Pakistan set to repay or roll over $3.7b debt

Pakistan’s finance ministry said on Tuesday arrangements had been made to repay or roll over this fiscal year’s $3.7 billion debt.

“This should not be any cause of concern as arrangements have been made for the rollover/repayment of this debt,” the ministry said in a statement.

Pakistan’s economy has been in turmoil for months due to an acute balance of payment crisis, with its central bank reserves falling to cover just a month of controlled imports.

There have been concerns the South Asian country could face a default on its external payment obligations, especially if it fails to resume an IMF deal, which it has been trying to negotiate since February.

The clarification was made in reaction to Bloomberg news that said Pakistan needed to repay another $3.7 billion in external debt by the end of June 30 this year.

A Fitch Rating official told the news outlet that he expected China would roll over a $2.4 billion loan maturing next month.

According to the report, Pakistan has to pay $700 million in May and $3 billion in June. Despite support from Saudi Arabia and UAE, the IMF remained unsatisfied. Staff-level agreement for $1.1 billion could not be concluded.

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