ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan government has broken all previous records of taking loans in the Fiscal Year 2016-17.
Pakistan obtained a record high $10.1 billion in foreign loans during 2016-17, as it looked to repay old debt and support foreign exchange reserves after the government’s failure to mobilise non-debt creating foreign inflows.About 37% or $3.9 billion of the total external borrowing came from China alone -Islamabad’s new lifeline. This includes $2.3 billion in commercial loans and another $1.6 billion under the bilateral economic assistance.
The $10.1-billion loans that include a record breaking $4.4 billion short-term foreign commercial loans as well were obtained during fiscal year 2016-17 that ended on June 30, said sources in the Ministry of Finance.