SBP receives $1.3bn from ADB

• Earlier this week, Pakistan and the ADB had signed two loan programme amounting to US $1.3 billion.
• The loan agreements were signed by Secretary, Economic Affairs Division, Dr Syed Pervaiz Abbas and Country Director ADB Ms Xiaohong Yang and were witnessed by Minister for Economic Affairs, Muhammad Hammad Azhar.

ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan has received US $1.3 billion from Asian Development Bank (ADB) in connection with the policy based lending committed by ADB to support Pakistan's budget and energy sector reforms, said a spokesman of SBP on Tuesday.

With this inflow of foreign currency, the central bank's foreign exchange reserves have swelled to over $10 billion.

Earlier this week, Pakistan and the ADB had signed two loan programme amounting to US $1.3 billion.

The loan programmes aim at improving exchange rate management, strengthen public financial management to mobilize more revenues, restore allocated efficiency of scarce public resource, address the power sector pricing issues and reduce the social impacts of macroeconomic stability measures by improved targeting and transparency of existing social protection programmes.

The loan agreements were signed by Secretary, Economic Affairs Division, Dr Syed Pervaiz Abbas and Country Director ADB Ms Xiaohong Yang and were witnessed by Minister for Economic Affairs, Muhammad Hammad Azhar.