Saudi Arabia, China Roll Overs Part of $27 Bn of Foreign Loans Pak got, Says Govt Report

 Pakistan was able to get $9 billion in roll overs from two of its closest allies, Saudi Arabia and China, adding up to the total of $27 billion foreign loans in the last fiscal year, a government report has said.

Pakistan's reliance on foreign loans to stabilise the economy grew in the last fiscal year 2025/26 with around $27 billion recorded in foreign loans, up from the foreign loans of approximately $26 billion in the fiscal year 2024/25, the provisional foreign economic assistance report by the Ministry of Economic Affairs has said.

The report shows that the $27 billion includes fresh loans of $16 billion, including a fresh loan of $3 billion from Saudi Arabia in deposits besides extending the $5 billion facility for another three years.

Finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb said this week that Pakistan has officially secured the rollover of the $3 billion deposit as well alongside the original $5 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan.

In the fiscal year 2025/26, Pakistan got $5 billion in roll overs from Saudi Arabia and $4 billion in roll overs on deposits from China, the provisional foreign economic assistance report, released last week, said.

Saudi Arabia has placed a total of $8 billion in cash deposits with Pakistan's central bank, charging 4% to 4.5% interest while China has placed $4 billion in cash deposits, charging over 6% interest, it added.

The loans have been taken mainly to finance the budget, retire debt and build foreign exchange reserves, the report said.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves took a hit earlier this year when it repaid a total of $3.45 billion in deposits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late April.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs report also showed that in the last fiscal year, Pakistan had got $2.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The inflows in the last fiscal year include foreign loans, grants, commercial financing and investment instruments, it said, adding, of the $27.2 billion in foreign loans this year, $24 billion were obtained for budget financing, external debt repayments and increasing foreign exchange reserves.

The report also showed that only $3.4 billion, or nearly 13%, was received for project financing.

The gross foreign exchange reserves with the State Bank stood at $18.5 billion as of end-June and are largely the result of rollovers, refinancing of existing loans and purchase of dollars from the market.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Aurangzeb asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to provide Pakistan with a $10 billion Exchange Stabilisation Support Facility to help strengthen the national economy.

Earlier last week, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said Pakistan's exports have fallen by 6% in the last fiscal year compared to previous.