SBP holds about $13 billion reserves, Hammad Azhar informs Senate
- By Web Desk -
- Jan 22, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar has said on Friday that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) holds foreign exchange reserves of twelve to thirteen billion dollars.
“The reserves have increased due to improvement in exports and remittances”, Hammad Azhar informed Senate during question hour, reported Radio Pakistan.
Senate began its session at the parliament house in Islamabad today (Friday) with Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair.
The minister for Industries said there has also been a record debt servicing during the tenure of the present government. He said we are paying back ten billion dollars annually.
Read more: Pakistan’s foreign reserves rise $250 million
Hammad Azhar said the current account has shown a surplus of 1.6 billion dollars during the first five months of the current financial year against a deficit of 1.7 billion dollars in the corresponding period last year.
Hammad Azhar said that special economic zones will be constructed under the mega China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
He said construction work on three SEZs has been expedited and projects worth 1.7 billion dollars are in the phase of implementation in Gwadar under the CPEC.