Home MOREBUSINESS & ECONOMY Pakistan’s Imran Khan to visit Beijing seeking $3 billion in loans & investments

Pakistan’s Imran Khan to visit Beijing seeking $3 billion in loans & investments

by asma

Pakistan is reportedly looking to secure a $3 billion (PKR 529 billion) loan from China and investments in half a dozen sectors during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing next week, according to media reports on Sunday.

Khan will visit the Chinese capital on February 3rd to attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics and to also meet the top Chinese leadership on the sidelines for bilateral talks.

The Express Tribune reported quoting government sources that a final meeting to shape the agenda of the visit would take place on Tuesday.

A senior finance ministry official said the government was considering requesting China to approve another loan to the tune of $3 billion in China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, known as SAFE deposits, so as to boost its foreign exchange reserves.

China has already placed around $11 billion with Pakistan in the shape of commercial loans and foreign exchange reserves support initiatives, including $4 billion in SAFE deposits.

The Chinese money is part of the country’s current official foreign exchange reserves recorded at $16.1 billion.

Last month, Pakistan also received a loan from Saudi Arabia of $3 billion, which the country has already used.

The Pakistan government aims to secure Chinese investment in six priority sectors by highlighting the competitive advantages that the country – cheap but skilled labour, geographic access to Europe and Asia and tax exemptions.

“We will market textile, footwear, pharmaceutical, furniture, agriculture, automobile and information technology sectors for Chinese investment,” said Chairman of Board of Investment Azfar Ahsan.

The government is expected to tell the 75 Chinese companies that it provided access to trade routes to the Middle East, Africa and the rest of the world offering greater incentives in the shape of reduction in freight cost.

“Unlike in the past when we would only talk about Pak-Sino friendship being higher than the Himalayas and sweeter than honey, this time we are going to prepare for China with a structured approach,” Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar told The Express Tribune.

He added that with the involvement of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority the government had selected those sectors for foreign investment where there was evidence of huge benefits for Chinese investors.

Pakistani authorities said they believe its labour is two-times cheaper than that of China. This offers a greater opportunity for relocation of the dying Chinese industries.

However, all these areas and the competitive advantages are already known to the investors but they remain reluctant to bring in big money to Pakistan because of its inconsistent fiscal and energy policies.

China has decided to move into a more sophisticated and high-tech-driven textile and apparel industry and engage in more value-added functions under its 2021-25 plan.


Image: By Irfan Ahson – https://twitter.com/AhsonIrfan/status/1034854935618351104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1034854935618351104%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mangobaaz.com%2Fimran-khan-pm-photo-shoot-irfan-ahson-debate, https://commons.wikimedia.org/…


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