Cash-strapped Pakistan seeks additional 10 billion yuan loan from China: Report

Pakistan has requested an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) loan from China as the cash-strapped country has already used the existing 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion), a media report said on Sunday.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who met with China’s Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min on the sidelines of annual meetings of IMF and World Bank in Washington, requested the Chinese side to raise the limits under the currency swap agreement to 40 billion yuan, a statement issued by the Finance Ministry late on Saturday said.

If Beijing accepts, the total facility will reach approximately $5.7 billion, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. This is not the first time Pakistan has requested an increased debt limit, however, Beijing has declined all such past requests.