Pakistan seeks billions of dollars in new loans after floods

[CrazyZ]

• Country needs 'huge sums of money' for 'mega undertakings' such as rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged or washed away, the FT quoted PM Shehbaz as saying

Reuters Published October 19, 2022 Updated about 3 hours ago

Photo: REUTERS

Pakistan will ask international lenders for billions of dollars in loans after devastating floods exacerbated the South Asian nation’s economic crisis, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
“We are not asking for any kind of measure [such as] a rescheduling or a moratorium,” the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the Financial Times.
“We are asking for additional funds.”

The country needs “huge sums of money” for “mega undertakings” such as rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged or washed away, the FT quoted PM Shehbaz as saying.

He did not specify the amount Pakistan is seeking, but repeated an estimate of $30 billion of flood losses, the report added.

Earlier this month, the United Nations raised its humanitarian aid appeal for Pakistan five-fold to $816 million from $160 million, as a surge in water-borne diseases and fear of growing hunger pose new dangers after the unprecedented floods.
The European Union also scaled up its flood assistance to 30 million euros ($29.57 million).

A decline in Pakistan’s currency is also pushing up the cost of imports, borrowing and debt servicing, and will further exacerbate inflation already running at a multi-decade high of 27.3%.

The estimated $30 billion in damage to the economy from the floods along with rising concerns about Islamabad’s ability to raise money to meet external financing requirements has worsened the situation.

Pakistan seeks billions of dollars in new loans after floods

Country needs 'huge sums of money' for 'mega undertakings' such as rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged or washed away, the FT quoted PM Shehbaz as saying

www.brecorder.com

Shehbaz is detached from reality. Too much foreign debt is what caused the current situation. There should be a moratorium on non-PKR debt.

 

[Wood]

How else can Pakistan finance the reconstruction of critical infrastructure that was damaged by floods? Loans from multilateral agencies are usually cheap

 

[CrazyZ]

How else can Pakistan finance the reconstruction of critical infrastructure that was damaged by floods? Loans from multilateral agencies are usually cheap

Utilize the domestic financial sector for PKR based loans and investment. Outside of a few billion from multilateral agencies, foreign lenders will not lend at reasonable rates. Shahbaz is detached from reality.

 

[Wood]

Utilize the domestic financial sector for PKR based loans and investment.

In other words, print PKR and make it 500 PKR per $?

 

[CrazyZ]

In other words, print PKR and make it 500 PKR per $?

You haven't met Pakistani bankers. They would like nothing more then to buy government bonds. No thinking involved.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Good strategy, take the loan and dump in on the next government.

 

[epebble]

Shehbaz is detached from reality. Too much foreign debt is what caused the current situation. There should be a moratorium on non-PKR debt.

Fret not, nothing will be forthcoming. The next billion or so from IMF may come by next October. There is neither the liquidity nor, more importantly, the willingness. The governance issues are too much for IMF to digest.

 

[CrazyZ]

Fret not, nothing will be forthcoming. The next billion or so from IMF may come by next October. There is neither the liquidity nor, more importantly, the willingness. The governance issues are too much for IMF to digest.

Yup, best way to get dollars today is from USA consumers through exports.......not financial institutions.

 

[Sliver]

Yup, best way to get dollars today is from USA consumers through exports.......not financial institutions.

but for exports you need industries to function
and those industries need cheap fuel, trained man power and good infra to be competitive
except for the manpower, none exist

the man power that is skilled and trained is slowly leaving the country.

 

[CrazyZ]

but for exports you need industries to function
and those industries need cheap fuel, trained man power and good infra to be competitive
except for the manpower, none exist

the man power that is skilled and trained is slowly leaving the country.

Global dollar liquidity is drying up. Pakistan's bond ratings are very low. If current government is looking to global financial industry to save them.......they are in for a rude awakening. They are detached from reality.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Global dollar liquidity is drying up. Pakistan's bond ratings are very low. If current government is looking to global financial industry to save them.......they are in for a rude awakening. They are detached from reality.

You’re saying that nuclear weapons are not going to help secure a loan? Blasphemous statement mate!

 

[epebble]

they are in for a rude awakening. They are detached from reality.

The finance minister is, hmm, aggressively optimistic

Dar shrugs off concerns over Pakistan's 2023 external financing needs

"There is no need to be nervous, Pakistan will not default," finance minister says.

www.dawn.com

 

[SIPRA]

Asking money for more loot and plunder.

 

[khansaheeb]

Pakistan needs ‘huge sums of money’, not rescheduling: PM

Shehbaz says CPEC to enter B2B phase; Chinese experts to assist authorities in disaster management.

www.dawn.com

Pakistan needs ‘huge sums of money’, not rescheduling: PM​

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter Published October 20, 2022 Updated about 2 hours ago




10

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets a delegation of disaster management experts from China on Wednesday. — PID
1x1.2x1.5x
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said Pakistan needed billions of dollars for rebuilding climate-resilient infrastructure in the aftermath of floods which left over 33 million people without shelter and inundated southern parts of the country.
“We are not asking for any kind of measure [such as] a rescheduling or a moratorium,” PM Sharif was quoted by the Financial Times. “We are asking for additional funds,” the PM said in his remarks which contradicted his Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s plan to seek rescheduling of loans. On Oct 15, Mr Dar said Pakistan would seek rescheduling of some $27 billion worth of non-Paris Club debt largely owed to China, but will not pursue haircuts as part of any restructuring.
According to the Financial Times, PM Sharif said Islamabad was not trying to reschedule its external debt, worth about $130bn, but it did need “huge sums of money” for “mega undertakings” such as rebuilding roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.
“There is a gap — and a very serious gap — which is widening by the day between our demands and what we have received,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying.






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Shehbaz says CPEC to enter B2B phase; Chinese experts to assist authorities in disaster management

The prime minister said Pakistan had been tapping state coffers to help displaced families and buy provisions such as tents, medicine, food packs and drinkable water and added Pakistan would also “seek additional funding from wherever we can”.
According to the British daily, French president Emmanuel Macron promised to host a donors’ conference to boost Pakistan’s fundraising efforts. Still, no date has been set for the conference so far. PM Sharif said he expected it to take place in Paris in November.

CPEC project​

In a meeting to review the progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, the premier said it was all set to enter the business-to-business mode as both sides countries have pledged to revive the multi-billion dollars project purportedly stalled during the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.
PM Sharif said efforts were underway to make the project “more productive” for the two sides by turning into B2B mode. “The government has rejuvenated the multi-billion dollar project that faced hiatus during the previous government,” the premier said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the meeting chaired by PM Sharif focused on infrastructure projects, particularly Main Line-1 (ML-1), Karachi Circular Railway, and Karakoram Highway. The project related to the production of 10,000-megawatt electricity from solar and wind power also came under discussion.
In a separate meeting with a Chinese delegation led by Emergency Commanding Officer Xu Xianbiao, the premier asked the disaster management experts to sign an accord with Pakistan before their departure as he sought Beijing’s help to make Pakistan self-reliant in disaster management.
The delegation will provide technical assistance to Pakistan on short, medium, and long-term projects in the construction of infrastructure to predict floods and reduce their impact.
The Chinese delegation has formed a working group to cooperate with the relevant Pakistani institutions and authorities and will submit a detailed report to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday for the rehabilitation of people and infrastructure in the affected areas.
Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2022
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If Pakistan manages the floods effectively then we will never have a water shortage.