Pakistan may return USD 2 billion Saudi Arabian loan: Report
Islamabad: Pakistan may return USD 2 billion loan to Saudi Arabia and the cash-strapped country is looking for various options to secure more lending aimed at retaining gross official foreign exchange reserves at their current level of over USD 12 billion, a media report said on Saturday.
The Saudi Arabian financial assistance package, originally estimated at USD 6.2 billion, had helped the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to avoid looming default on international debt obligations.
The second tranche of USD 1 billion of Saudi loan is maturing next month and there is the likelihood that the government will return the money two years after the borrowings, The Express Tribune quoted sources in the Ministry of Finance as saying.
"It is a bilateral confidential matter," said the Ministry of Finance in a terse response on Friday.
But a top government official said on condition of anonymity that there was a possibility that Pakistan will be returning the money next month.
After coming into power, Prime Minister Khan had twice flown to Saudi Arabia to secure the package, which enabled his government to negotiate a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Saudi Arabia had agreed to provide USD 6.2 billion worth of financial package to Pakistan for three years. This included USD 3 billion in cash assistance and USD 3.2 billion worth of annual oil and gas supply on deferred payments.
As per the agreement, the Saudi cash and oil facility was for one year with an option to roll over the amount at the end of the year for a period of three years., the report said.
Pakistan was paying 3.2 per cent interest on the USD 3-billion facility, according to the information that the Ministry of Finance shared with the National Assembly.
The Saudi oil facility has already been suspended while Pakistan has also paid back Saudi Arabia USD 1 billion out of the USD 3 billion in May this year.
The sources said the government was considering various options to repay the Saudi loan, which is booked on the balance sheet of the State Bank of Pakistan.
A senior Finance Ministry official said that Pakistan could get USD 2 billion from China like it did last time when it paid back USD 1 billion to Saudi Arabia. The official did not explain whether the Chinese lending will be concessional or commercial loans.
Chinese authorities have privately expressed reservations over slow progress on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but they are likely to bail out Islamabad due to the strategic nature of the relations, the report said.
The government has also not been able to get the suspended USD 6 billion IMF programme restored, which is making it difficult for it to continue uninterrupted foreign inflows. The sources said if the IMF programme is not restored in near future, the World Bank inflows may start drying up.
The IMF is not bending on two conditions of introducing a mini-budget and increasing electricity tariffs, which has complicated matters for the government that is already facing criticism for high inflation.
The programme loans from the other two multilateral creditors were also critical to return USD 10.6 billion in maturing loans in the current fiscal year, excluding the Saudi Arabian and the UAE debt.
Pakistan's gross official foreign currency reserves of about USD 12.2 billion are largely built by taking foreign loans.
Pakistan has also utilized a USD 3 billion Chinese trade financing facility to cushion its reserves. The USD 3 billion facility is also expiring in May next year, which Pakistan has decided to request China to rollover.
As of September this year, the central bank also borrowed USD 5.8 billion from commercial banks under the forward and currency swap arrangements, according to the SBP data.
Just six months ago, in February 2020 when Pakistan was implementing the IMF loan programme, the SBP's borrowing under the swap and future contracts was USD 2.9 billion, including USD 1.6 billion in long-term contracts.
After excluding all short term liabilities, the central bank's reserves are negative by about USD 10 billion, the report said.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
