Pakistan seeks $17.6 billion loans during FY 23/24
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During the first quarter (July-September) of the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), Pakistan secured $3.527 billion in loans from various funding channels, which is an increase from the $2.234 billion borrowed in the same period of 2022-23, as per data released by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD).
The data also reveals that in September 2023, Pakistan received $320.92 million, contrasting with the $625.86 million received in September 2022.
Notably, the government had allocated $2.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for FY24 and obtained $1.2 billion as the initial installment of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in July 2023, although this is not reflected in the EAD data. Additionally, there is no mention of the $1 billion disbursed by the UAE. When accounting for the IMF and UAE inflows, the total funds received during the first three months of the current fiscal year would amount to $5.727 billion.
Out of the $3.527 billion borrowed, $2 billion was received from Saudi Arabia in the form of a time deposit in July 2023. However, the data indicates that the government's budgeted estimates of $4.5 billion from foreign commercial banks and $1.5 billion from bond issuance have not been realized as of yet.
The government had initially budgeted a total of $17.619 billion from various financing sources for the current fiscal year, encompassing $17.384 billion in loans and $234.60 million in grants.