Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan State Oil Ltd., the nation’s biggest fuel retailer, raised 15 billion rupees ($180 million) to help avert defaulting on payment for importing fuels.

The company got 10 billion rupees in loans from banks and 5 billion rupees in cash from the government, giving it funds to buy fuels for a week more, Managing Director Irfan K. Qureshi said in an interview today in the capital, Islamabad.

Funds owed to the company increased to 90 billion rupees after power utilities failed to pay for fuel purchases, delaying Pakistan State Oil’s payments to the country’s oil refiners. The government will help to narrow the dues, Qureshi said.

“Now we have a window of one week to receive the payments,” he said. “We might default on our letters of credit to banks for importing fuels if we don’t get the funds.”

Pakistan’s government plans to sell bonds, known as term finance certificates, in the domestic market on behalf of Pakistan Electric Power Co., the state-owned utility, and disburse the amount to the company, Qureshi said.

Pakistan State Oil shares rose 2.4 percent to 286.60 rupees, the highest level since Sept. 5, at the 1:30 p.m. local time close on the Karachi Stock Exchange. The stock has advanced 98 percent this year, compared with a 46 percent increase in the benchmark stock index of 100 shares.

Pakistan State Oil has a 61 percent share in the country’s refined oil market and 81 percent in crude oil sales, according to its Web Site.

To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad at paknews@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 28, 2009 06:35 EDT