Aurangzeb confirms Saudi rollover of $3 billion loan

Pakistan has secured a rollover of its $3 billion loan from Saudi Arabia, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday, speaking to reporters at Parliament House in Islamabad.

Aurangzeb said the arrangement had been deferred to an appropriate time and that he had held a productive meeting with his Saudi counterpart. He described relations between the two countries as strong and said Pakistan had no reason for concern over the financial arrangement.

The minister said Pakistan did not currently need additional financial assistance from Saudi Arabia. The rollover extends an existing arrangement rather than adding new money.

On reserves, Aurangzeb said the country holds enough foreign exchange to cover three months of imports, a measure of its capacity to meet external payment obligations. He also said Pakistan makes annual Eurobond payments of about 1.5 billion euros, and that the government wants to manage these obligations without creating difficulties for a future administration. He gave no further detail on the payment schedule.

On the International Monetary Fund, the finance minister said the IMF Executive Board could meet in December. Officials have not confirmed a specific date, and the government has yet to announce one.

The comments came as Pakistan continues to manage external obligations falling due over the coming months, including debt repayments and the import bill. The Saudi facility is one of several Gulf deposits Pakistan has relied on to keep its reserves steady.

Mettis Global also reported the $3 billion rollover, without the details Aurangzeb gave on reserves, Eurobond payments or the IMF board timetable.