During the presser, Umar divided the Chinese loans into two categories: private loans and government-to-government loans. According to Umar, Chinese financing in power projects has "slightly" lower interest rates than other money lending agencies. The planning minister further said that Chinese loans account for 10pc of Pakistan's total debt, while as far as external debt liabilities are concerned, Chinese loans account for 26pc whereas 74pc is owed to western donors. "Pakistan does have a debt sustainability challenge, but it is not due to Chinese loans," Umar said, adding that it was due to "Pakistan's own problems". According to Umar, Pakistan did not make a China-centric policy for its power projects as everyone was invited to invest in the sector.

Source: The Express Tribune October 06, 2021 08:48 UTC