The South Asian nation is still seeking International Monetary Fund assistance to ease a dire financial crisis.

Foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank have fallen to as little as US$8.2 billion, and the Pakistani rupee is at record lows against the US dollar.

“I’m pleased to announce that Chinese consortium loan of roughly US$2.3 billion has been credited into State Bank of Pakistan account today, increasing our foreign exchange reserves,” minister Ismail said in a tweet.

Pakistan entered a 39-month IMF programme in 2019, but less than half its US$6 billion size has been disbursed as Islamabad has struggled to keep targets on track.

The government today announced it would impose a one-year, 10% tax on large-scale industry to raise over 400 billion Pakistani rupees (US$1.93 billion) as it tries to unlock a new tranche of IMF funds to avert a balance of payments crisis.