News
November 06, 2026
Riyadh Rolls over $3Bn As Prospects of $10Bn US Facility WaneIslamabad: Pakistan has secured a $3 billion rollover from Saudi Arabia, as prospects of a proposed $10bn US backstop facility appear to have waned, it emerged on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb confirmed that Riyadh had extended the $3bn financing it provided in April this year to bridge a gap arising from $3.5bn in repayments to the United Arab Emirates.
“It has been extended and for a reasonable period. You don’t need to worry as to for how long given the kind of strategic relationship we have,” he said when asked about the facility, which matured on Oct 31 under its three-month term.
He said he had a very good meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, during the recent World Bank-IMF meetings in Bangkok. Saudi Arabia had already extended its $5bn facility until 2028.
Asked whether Pakistan had also sought additional support, the minister categorically denied it, saying this was not needed as foreign exchange reserves covered more than three months of imports and would be strengthened to provide a four-month import cover by the end of the year through capital markets.
Responding to another question about the prospects of the $10bn Exchange Stabilization Support Facility (ESSF) requested from the US in July this year, he sought to lower expectations that he himself had raised over the past several months. “What we asked for back in July and were looking at was the market access. We have got the market access,” he said, referring to the $3bn bond Pakistan issued in September against orders worth $6bn.
“If that (ESSF) materializes, fantastic, it will be a liquidity support facility. Otherwise, we have plans for further Eurobond issuance, Panda bond issuance and rupee-linked dollar-settled bond,” the minister said.
He added that he had held meetings with 70-80 institutional investors in Bangkok, who had a very clear view of Pakistan, and that offers were available for five-year and 10-year maturities, “because clearly we are looking beyond the [IMF] program”.
He said the government was looking at the US from a broader perspective, as the US Export-Import Bank and Development Finance Corporation (DFC) needed to support their investors and exporters in Pakistan. “That is real financing and real credit,” he said, adding that the ESSF request was for a liquidity support facility to help the sovereign. “If possible, fine; if not, we are going to move forward, with or without it.”
The finance minister also reported that the IMF Executive Board meeting to approve a disbursement of $1.2bn to Pakistan would be held in December.
Earlier, he told the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that Pakistan was targeting a reduction of $4bn in external debt during the current fiscal year and $3.5bn next year, compared with $4.5bn in the last fiscal year.
He said the government was seeking to replace expensive short-term borrowing with longer-maturity financing through bonds and private placements to reduce refinancing risks. He said external debt had been rising by $5-6bn annually, from $45bn in 2014-15 to around $100bn, but had increased by only $1bn annually over the past two years. – Dawn
Courtesy Dawn
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