ADB assures cash-strapped Pakistan $2 billion in new loans annually: Report

The Asian Development Bank has assured Pakistan it will provide USD 2 billion annually in new loans to the cash-strapped country amid the government's inability to get cheaper credit due to its worsened ratings, according to a media report on Tuesday.

The assurance was given by the visiting Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa during his interaction with Pakistani authorities on Monday, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing Ministry of Economic Affairs officials.

The Manila-based lender is expected to provide USD 2 billion per annum from 2024 to 2027, the officials said, adding that the total four-year package amounts to USD 8 billion. Out of the USD 2 billion, the ADB will give around USD 1 billion at a fixed 2 per cent rate under its concessional window.

Despite having reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan has become a desperate borrower in recent years, striking deals at unsustainably higher interest rate