Pakistan's State Bank confirmed on Monday that it has received a further $1 billion from Saudi Arabia, the second instalment of a newly agreed $3 billion deposit. The first tranche of $2 billion was transferred the previous week, following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Riyadh, during which the kingdom pledged the fresh deposit and extended an existing $5 billion facility for three more years. The funds arrive at a critical moment for Pakistan's external finances, as the country faces a $3.5 billion loan repayment to the UAE this month — a facility Islamabad failed to roll over in March — putting pressure on foreign exchange reserves that currently stand at around $16.4 billion, enough to cover roughly three months of imports.