DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said it could increase its investments in the cash-strapped Pakistan economy to $10 billion, the Saudi state news agency reported on Tuesday, as well as increase the ceiling on deposits into the Pakistan central bank to $5 billion.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has directed a study to increase Saudi Arabian investments to $10 billion, from the previous $1 billion announced in August, the news agency reported citing a statement from the Crown Prince.
He has also asked the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to consider raising the ceiling for Saudi deposits into the Pakistan central bank as part of measures to support the struggling economy.
Last month, the Saudis extended the terms of an existing $3 billion deposit in the central bank it made in 2021.
On Monday, international donors – including Saudi Arabia – committed over $9 billion to help Pakistan recover from ruinous floods last year, exceeding its external financing goals, at a Geneva meeting co-hosted by the United Nations and Pakistan’s government.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought to forge closer economic ties with Gulf states to secure bigger investments.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) aims to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, and in October, Sharif was invited to address delegates at Saudi’s flagship investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative.
(Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
