Pakistan asks China for extra $1.4 billion swap line, plans Panda bond launch | Cryptopolitan

Pakistan has asked China for an extra 10 billion yuan—around $1.4 billion—on top of its current swap line, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, according to Reuters.Speaking during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group spring meetings in Washington, Muhammad confirmed that Pakistan already holds a 30 billion yuan currency swap with China but now wants to boost it to 40 billion yuan.“From our perspective, getting to 40 billion renminbi would be a good place to move towards… we just put in that request,” Muhammad said. The swap expansion request ties into Pakistan’s urgent need to keep access to foreign currencies stable while strengthening its financial reserves.Besides pushing for a larger swap deal, Muhammad said Pakistan is getting close to launching its first-ever Panda bond, which is debt issued in China’s domestic market and denominated in yuan.Talks have been underway with the heads of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development B...