Pakistan secures $8bn package from Saudi Arabia

[ejaz007]

Pakistan secures $8bn package from Saudi Arabia​

Pakistan had proposed doubling of the oil facility from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to it, an official said​

By Mehtab Haider
May 01, 2022

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives PM Shehbaz at Al-Salam Royal Palace Jeddah on April 30, 2022. Photo: Twitter/PML_N

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has secured a "sizeable package" of around $8 billion from Saudi Arabia, including doubling of the oil financing facility, additional money either through deposits or Sukuks and rolling over of the existing $4.2 billion facilities during the visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

"However, technical details are being worked out and will take a couple of weeks to get all documents ready and signed," top official sources privy to the development informed The News on Saturday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his official entourage have left Saudi Arabia but Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail is still staying there to finalize the modalities of the increased financial package.

Sharing the salient features of the financial package, the official said that Pakistan had proposed doubling of the oil facility from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to it. It was also agreed that the existing deposits of $3 billion would be rolled over for an extended period up to June 2023.

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"Pakistan and KSA discussed an additional package of over $2 billion either through deposits or Sukuk and it is likely that even more money will be provided to Islamabad," said official sources, adding that the size of the total package would be determined when additional money was finalized. Saudi Arabia had provided $3 billion deposits to the State Bank of Pakistan in December 2021 while the Saudi oil facility was operationalised from March 2022 whereby Pakistan was provided $100 million to procure oil. Saudi Arabia had provided a $7.5 billion package during the last tenure of the PMLN government (2013-18). Under the PTI-led regime, Saudi Arabia had provided a package of $4.2 billion, including $3 billion deposits and $1.2 billion oil facility for one year and linked it with the IMF programme.

Now Saudi Arabia has provided an enhanced financial package to Pakistan when its economy is in dire straits and the country is facing a balance of payment crisis. The country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan depleted by $6 billion in the last six to seven weeks and nosedived to $10.5 billion at the moment. With the rising current account deficit at $13.2 billion in the first nine months and pressing external loan repayment requirements, Pakistan requires financial injections of $9 to $12 billion till June 2022 to avert further depletion of foreign currency reserves. Pakistan will have to repay external debt servicing of $3 billion in the last quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal year.

The revival of the IMF programme is considered as imperative because the gross external financing requirement is estimated to the tune of $35 billion during the next fiscal year 2022-23 and without the backing of the programme, the huge financing gap cannot be bridged. However, independent economists, like Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, suggest a ban on the import of luxury cars and other unessential items for saving dollars.

Later in a tweet, Miftah Ismail said, "Just said goodbye to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other colleagues at Jeddah Airport, who are on their way to Islamabad after a brief stopover in Abu Dhabi to meet Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Zayed. I remain in SA to meet Saudi officials and start technical-level talks."

Pakistan secures $8bn package from Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has secured a sizeable package of around $8 billion from Saudi Arabia, including doubling of the oil financing facility, additional money either through deposits or Sukuks and...

www.thenews.com.pk

 

[sur]

(source)

This $1.2 Bn of oil facility was not consumed by PTI - still sitting intact - watch from 7:49 - Bloomberg above mentions that $1.2 Bn

میرے پیارے ھم وطنو ـ پھیک نیوج ؟
​

Out of alleged 8Bn, 3Bn is just a pre-mature request for an extension of existing facility that was available to but never used by PTI.
Pre-mature, because facility actually expires in Nov/Dec. Pre-mature request so that SS could be given credit for it.

(source)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1520648652913479680

In the other news, how did one miss this very important development!
Date shows 31-Dec, not sure which year.
Did volume-10 contain something like this?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1520291876238237698

 

[RIP Pak LAW]

Lmao thenewspk geo network source. Fact is, he has been sent back empty handed

 

[AZ1]

3bn as miftah ismail said inbhis tweet. but inflation is all time high

https://twitter.com/x/status/1520659079156441088

 

[Princeps Senatus]

major bag alert

 

[RescueRanger]

As they were walking, a beggar came up, holding his hand out and crying, “Baksheesh! baksheesh!

Mike kept on going but Mitchell stopped. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out two anna’s and placed it in the Beggars dirty hand.

Mike said, “I used to give to beggars when I first came here. But then I realised it’s hopeless. It never stops.”

“Jesus said you should give to whoever asks you” Mitchell said. “yeah, we’ll” Mike said, “Obviously Jesus was never in Calcutta. - Quote taken from one of my favourite novels titled “The Marriage Plot”.

 

[P@kistan]

As they were walking, a beggar came up, holding his hand out and crying, “Baksheesh! baksheesh!

Mike kept on going but Mitchell stopped. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out two anna’s and placed it in the Beggars dirty hand.

Mike said, “I used to give to beggars when I first came here. But then I realised it’s hopeless. It never stops.”

“Jesus said you should give to whoever asks you” Mitchell said. “yeah, we’ll” Mike said, “Obviously Jesus was never in Calcutta. - Quote taken from one of my favourite novels titled “The Marriage Plot”.

Halal Bheek and Azaad Loan

Cabinet approves $4.2b Saudi loan package | The Express Tribune

Minister says much-need hard cash to help stabilise exchange rate

tribune.com.pk

 

[Dalit]

Halal Bheek and Azaad Loan

Cabinet approves $4.2b Saudi loan package | The Express Tribune

Minister says much-need hard cash to help stabilise exchange rate

tribune.com.pk

Beggars can't be choosers. Not the words of IK.

 

[Wood]

Wow. That was a lot quicker than I anticipated. Shahbaz getting the job done. This will give respite and restore confidence in the currency for short term at least

 

[Dalit]

Wow. That was a lot quicker than I anticipated. Shahbaz getting the job done. This will give respite and restore confidence in the currency for short term at least

LOL we will see.

 

[P@kistan]

Beggars can't be choosers. Not the words of IK.

Imran Khan says expelling French ambassador would harm Pakistan​

Imran Khan says expelling French ambassador would harm Pakistan

Islamabad, Apr 19 (EFE).- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday referred to the struggling economy to call for an end to Islamist protests that have rocked the country over the past week and stressed that expelling the French ambassador over the issue of controversial cartoons of Prophet...

www.laprensalatina.com

“If we expel the French ambassador, the loss will be to Pakistan, it will make no difference to France,” Khan said in a televised speech.

He argued that severing ties with the European nation would result in falling exports, rising unemployment, closure of factories, rising inflation and an increase in poverty.

“So, will it damage us or France?’ asked the prime minister, who insisted that breaking ties with France would mean affecting relations with the entire European Union, the destination for around half of Pakistan’s total textile exports.

 

[Dalit]

Imran Khan says expelling French ambassador would harm Pakistan​

Imran Khan says expelling French ambassador would harm Pakistan

Islamabad, Apr 19 (EFE).- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday referred to the struggling economy to call for an end to Islamist protests that have rocked the country over the past week and stressed that expelling the French ambassador over the issue of controversial cartoons of Prophet...

www.laprensalatina.com

“If we expel the French ambassador, the loss will be to Pakistan, it will make no difference to France,” Khan said in a televised speech.

He argued that severing ties with the European nation would result in falling exports, rising unemployment, closure of factories, rising inflation and an increase in poverty.

“So, will it damage us or France?’ asked the prime minister, who insisted that breaking ties with France would mean affecting relations with the entire European Union, the destination for around half of Pakistan’s total textile exports.

This is very different to saying that beggars can't be choosers. Your leader actually calls Pakistanis beggars.

 

[Wood]

LOL we will see.

If true, this is a big achievement for the administration. The significance of timely financial support cannot be underrated. One of the problems faced by Pakistan in the last few years was in delay of engaging IMF. Same for Sri Lanka.

Shahbaz is a quick mover

 

[Waterboy]

PTI cult follower can't swallow the news because of thier biased approach.

People even have a problem with our economic lifeline now. Only if your beloved would have approached IMF instantly in 2018 we wouldn't have been battered so bad. When he was secruing loans from SA and UAE people were chanting leaderrrrr.

What we need next is to cut the fuel subsidies, increase taxation and focus on exports. Things will turn out fine.

 

[P@kistan]

This is very different to saying that beggars can't be choosers. Your leader actually calls Pakistanis beggars.

Sahi ja rahay ho..

How to support blindly!!!