Pakistan has stepped up efforts to stave off a foreign exchange crisis, through plans to raise hundreds of millions of dollars both from Pakistani expatriates and wealthy Chinese investors, top officials have told the Financial Times.
Islamabad has been battling for several months to restore its dwindling stocks of foreign currency and hopes to avoid asking for help from the International Monetary Fund through measures including issuing US denominated debt to Pakistanis living abroad and a renminbi-denominated “Panda Bond”.
The plans come after a fall in Pakistan’s foreign reserves this month to about $11.4bn — equivalent to about 10 weeks of imports — down from around $14.1bn in December.