The Government of Pakistan on Tuesday received $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the finance ministry tweeted. The funds are deposited with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), it said, adding these would augment the country’s reserves. “Government of Pakistan has received $500 million from AIIB. The funds are deposited with the SBP and will augment our reserves,” the ministry tweeted. Last week, the domestic currency inched down by 0.05% (or Rs0.11) to a new six-week low at Rs223.92 against the greenback in the inter-bank market. A market expert had pointed out that the forthcoming repayment of $1 billion had built pressure on the rupee. Earlier, the delay in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ninth review of its $6.5 billion loan programme had led to the rupee’s depreciation for the second consecutive working day. The delay in IMF’s review has blocked new loan inflows as most of the multilateral and bilateral creditors including the World Bank, AIIB, China and Saudi Arabia were waiting for the clearance of the review. The international money lender has asked Pakistan to reduce expenses before talks on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme, local media reported on Monday, citing sources. The finance ministry had said that it would “expeditiously” finish the technical engagement with the IMF as part of the ninth review of the programme, but a firm date for the review completion is yet to be announced.