Saudi Arabia mulls renewing $3b deposit to help cash-strapped Pakistan: report

Saudi Arabia is planning to renew the kingdom’s $3 billion deposit with Pakistan, Bloomberg reported Saturday, as the cash-strapped country desperately seeks financial assistance.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication said that apart from renewing the deposits with the State Bank of Pakistan as soon as this week (SBP), Saudi Arabia is also considering providing further financial help. “The kingdom also plans to provide $100 million a month for 10 months in petroleum products that will be granted as additional support,” the publication quoted the people. The announcement is expected within two days, it added.
Once the plan becomes official, Pakistan’s $4 billion funding gap — a pre-condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — will be fulfilled, paving way for the revival of the lender’s programme.
The IMF had set a condition that the cash-strapped nation needed to fulfil its $4 billion financing gap for the loans to be disbursed under the combined seventh and eighth reviews.
Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail has confirmed that the IMF Executive Board is expected to meet on August 29 for taking up Pakistan’s request to approve the seventh and eighth reviews and release a tranche of $1.17 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). “We have received the Letter of Intent (LoI) copy, and we will send it back to the IMF’s executive board on Monday,” the finance minister told The News.-Agencies