ISLAMABAD: Pakistan incurred foreign debt of $4.5 billion from multiple financing sources in the first five months (July-November) of 2020-21 including $1.62 billion from foreign commercial banks projected at 36 percent of total budgeted external loans of $12.233 billion for the entire fiscal year 2020-21.
The Economic Affairs Division data released on Thursday shows that in November the country received $1.4 billion external inflows from multiple financing sources including $1.054 billion from foreign commercial banks.
The external inflows during the corresponding period (July-November) of fiscal year 2019-20 were $3.1 billion, which were around 24 percent of the annual budgeted amount of $12.958 billion.
In the aftermath of Covid-19 and its second wave in the country, the disbursements of project financing from development partners dried up during the last quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20.
The pandemic led to closure of many economic activities across the country including development project activities.
However, after the ease in the lockdown by the government, the economic activity is reviving which may lead to a revival of the project financing in the current fiscal year 2020-21, the EAD added.
The total receipt of $4.499 billion constitutes $1,300 million or 29 percent as program/budgetary support assistance; $1,621 million (36 percent) as foreign commercial borrowing; and $518 million (12 percent) as project assistance to finance its development projects activities for improving the socio-economic development of the country and for asset creation, and $60 million (one percent) as short-term credit, while $1,000 million (22 percent) received in terms of time safe deposits.
According to the data, the government procured $1.62 billion loans from foreign commercial banks during July-November 2020, including $34.62 million from Ajman Bank, $200 million from the Standard Chartered Bank (London), $216.66 million from Dubai Bank, again $185 million from Dubai Bank in November, $115 million were received from the consortium-led by Suisse AG, the UBL, and ABL, $270 million from Emirates NBD in November, and $500 million from the ICBC, China in November.
The data also reflects the $1 billion of safe China deposit.
The bilateral and multilateral development partners have disbursed $1.878 billion of foreign economic assistance during July-November of ongoing fiscal year 2020-21 against the budgetary allocation of $5.811 billion for fiscal year 2020-21.
Among the multilateral development partners, mainly Asian Development Bank provided $712 million, the World Bank disbursed $694 million against the budgetary allocation of $2,257 million.
While from bilateral sources, France, USA and China provided $33.4 million, $63.8 million and $21.8 million respectively.
According to the EAD data during July-October, 2020 total servicing of external public debt was $2,450 million against the annual repayment estimates of $10,363 million for the entire fiscal year.
For the period July-October, 2020-21, net transfers to the government were $144 million. Positive net transfers came mainly due to higher inflows from multilateral development partners.
According to the EAD, the stock of external loans which was obtained on market-based instruments has decreased by $618 million and the share of concessional external loans with longer maturity increased by $761 million.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020