*ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s loan borrowing strikes at sky level during FY18 at$11.4 billion due to increasing liabilities, resulting in diminishedforeign exchange reserves and more reliance on the peripheral creditors.*

According to Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Pakistan hasobtained a loan of total $11.4 billion during FY18, also inclusive of $500million by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The provision of cash provided by SAFE, China in the month of June 2018 wasto curtail the turn down in foreign exchange reserves.

In FY17, Pakistan took loan of about $10.1 billion and in FY18 the amounthas augmented to $11.4 billion, which is utmost since Pakistan’sindependence in 1947.

About $4.5 billion of external borrowing was taken from China, including$2.2 billion in commercial loans, $1.8 billion in the name ofChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and $500 million in SAFE deposit.

The loans acquired in the ongoing FY18 is of $11.4 billion are 3.7% higherthan the government’s protrusion, that was kept before parliament in June2017.

Alongside projections of $1.55 billion, the former PML-N governmentattained a confounding $3.7 billion in foreign commercial loans during FY18.

The general eccentric borrowing during FY18 touched at $6.7 billionconsisting $2.5 billion elevated by autonomous bond float, equivalent 58.8%of total external loans.

In FY18, bilateral loans were only $1.9 billion, out of which $1.78 billionwere endowed by China. However, Japan presented $65.8 million during FY18comparatively to last year.

World Bank (WB) & Islamic Development Bank (IDB) granted loan of $768million and $1.04 billion respectively, it comprises of 66% of annualprojections. China loans, IDB and foreign commercial banks comprises of70.6% of total loans.