Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that the board of the China Development Bank (CDB) has approved a loan facility of $700 million for Pakistan and formalities in this regard have been completed.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was expected to receive the money this week, which would help shore up the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves, Dar wrote on Twitter.

Pakistan is in dire need of funds as it battles a worsening economic crisis with the country’s foreign exchange reserves dropping to around $3 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of controlled imports.

The government is currently holding virtual talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout that would lead not only to a disbursement of $1.2bn but is also expected to unlock inflows from friendly countries and other multilateral institutions.

Dar had said earlier this year that the country’s foreign reserves situation would be “much better than you can think” by end-June.

China and Saudi Arabi would enhance their support, government-to-government (G2G) disinvestments would be completed, and the current acc­ount deficit would be about $3bn less than earlier projections, he had said.