ISLAMABAD – China okayed the rollover of $2 billion State Administration ofForeign Exchange (SAFE) deposits for one year.
Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced this while talking to aprivate publication.
It was one of the requirements of the IMF for getting the rollover ofChinese SAFE deposits for meeting external financing needs in order to movetowards striking the much-awaited staff-level agreement.
There are nine tables under the Memorandum of Economic and FinancialPolicies (MEFP) that require to be filled.
IMF has asked Pakistan to bridge the gap of $6 billion is simply an attemptto ensure its credibility. Non-materialisation may result in Pakistansliding into default.
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The Fund was forced to put forth this condition on the negotiating tablelargely because representatives of Gulf countries on the Executive Boardhad made commitments before the approval of the seventh and eighth reviewsfor providing financial assistance to Islamabad in different forms. Theseincluded additional deposits and investments.
Now, all eyes are on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the UAE and Qatarto bail out Pakistan’s struggling economy.
Only China had come forward to rescue Islamabad by fulfilling itscommitments on the re-financing of its commercial loans as well as therollover of its SAFE deposits.
