Pakistan is reviewing a proposal to receive upfront 20 per cent of the total cost of five China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects as deposits in the central bank in a bid to get breathing space amid declining foreign exchange reserves, a media report said on Sunday.
The proposal has been discussed at the highest level as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given instruction to further fine-tune it, a Cabinet minister told The Express Tribune.
He said that at least five CPEC projects were discussed during a meeting, having a total estimated value of USD 7 billion.
Under the proposal, Pakistan can receive at least USD 1.4 billion in its central bank out of the total cost of USD 7 billion. In return, these five projects that are facing years of delay will be put on the fast track for implementation.
Pakistan's gross official foreign exchange reserves have dipped below USD 8 billion and will get a USD 1.2 billion boost by the end of this month once the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves its loan tranche on August 29.
The daily citing its sources said that Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had some concerns, including over the preferential treatment that those schemes could get in the process, which might also antagonise the IMF.
According to the proposal, the sponsoring Chinese firm will bring 20 per cent of the total cost in US currency and will keep the money in a special account. The Chinese firm can draw the money in Pak rupee for the expenses that it will...
Read Full Story: https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/2022/08/22/pak-mulls-taking-upfront-cost-of-cpec-projects-to-boost-foreign-.html
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