Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rise to $4.3bn

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose to $4.3 billion in the week ending on March 3, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. “During the week ended on March 3, SBP’s reserves increased by $487 million to $4.3bn due to receipt of $500m as GoP commercial loan from China,” it added. The SBP said total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $9.75bn. Arif Habib Limited calculated that the reserves had increased by $1.4bn since February 3, adding that they were sufficient to cover almost a month of imports. Last week, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd had approved a rollover of a $1.3 billion loan for Pakistan, which Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had said would help shore up depleting foreign exchange reserves.