Abdul Ghani

China has provided a significant boost to Pakistan’s foreign reserves by maintaining a $4 billion SAFE deposit, as recorded in the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ disbursement report for the first two months of FY2025-26.

The Monthly Disbursement Report for August 2025 available with Wealth Pakistan lists the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) China Deposit under non-project assistance. The data shows a full-year allocation of $4,000 million, which was realized in July–August.

The SAFE deposit is recorded alongside other major non-project inflows, including the Saudi time deposit, IMF tranche, foreign commercial bank loans, and bonds. Together, these inflows accounted for the bulk of the $19.92 billion received in the first two months of the fiscal year.

The report notes that budgetary support inflows stood at $13,522.60 million, including deposits and commercial financing. Within this, the Chinese SAFE deposit represents one of the single largest bilateral contributions, accounting for nearly one-third of the total non-project disbursements.

The Ministry’s tables show that the SAFE deposit had a budget estimate of $4 billion, which was fully reflected in actual disbursements at the start of the fiscal year. This indicates that the support was not only pledged but delivered in line with the financing plan.

The report highlights that the SAFE deposit, when combined with the KSA Time Deposit ($5 billion), forms the backbone of bilateral financial assistance in FY2025-26. Combined, the two deposits contribute $9 billion to Pakistan’s reserves, providing substantial liquidity support.

With this deposit reflected in the Ministry’s data, China remains one of Pakistan’s key external partners in financial cooperation.

Credit: INP-WealthPk