KARACHI: Amid the growing need for financing to meet external debt repayment obligations, the government has arranged a $300 million loan from United Bank Ltd (UBL).

According to a press release issued on Monday, UBL had arranged and financed a $300m short-term loan for the government of Pakistan through its UAE and Bahrain branches.

While the government is trying to arrange more financing for its debt servicing during the current fiscal year, it struggles to roll over the debt from China and other countries.

UBL has one of the largest international presences among Pakistani banks, with international assets exceeding $2.4 billion.

The bank said the deal shows the ability of UBL to offer clients seamless and reliable solutions, both in Pakistan and abroad. UBL enjoys a strong track record of successfully executing complex and high-value transactions.

Despite higher remittances and exports, the country needs at least $14bn to pay the external debt during 2024-25. The target reserves for the State Bank is $13bn at the end of FY25. After consistent increases in the last two months, the SBP reported an outflow of $228m to $11.853bn during the week ended on Dec 26.

It is important to note that the SBP has been buying dollars from the domestic market to keep its reserves up to a certain level required by the IMF under the conditions for the $7bn Extended Fund Facility.

“This transaction supports Pakistan’s external financing needs, in line with commitments to the IMF,” said UBL.

Agri partnership

HBL Microfinance Bank (HBL MfB) and HBL Zarai Services Ltd (HZSL), the pioneer agriculture-specialised extension services company in Pakistan, announced a strategic partnership on Monday to empower farmers through improved access to financial and agricultural support services.

This collaboration underscores a shared vision of fostering sustainable agricultural development and enhancing rural livelihoods.

Under the partnership, HBL MfB, with its extensive expertise in providing tailored financial solutions to smallholder farmers, will establish a presence at HBL Zarai’s Deras, thus offering microfinance products designed to meet their agricultural needs.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2024