Central Government debt soars by 8% YoY in March’21

May 22, 2021 (MLN): The total debt of the Central Government during the month of March 2021 surged by Rs2.7trillion or around 8% YoY to stand at Rs36.8tr when compared to Rs34.1tr recorded in March 2020.

On a monthly basis, the central government debt increased by 0.6% against Rs36.63tr reported in February 2021.  

The data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shows that the larger portion of the debt was domestic, whereas the remaining was external. The Central Government Domestic Debt amounted to Rs25.6tr during the month, signifying a growth of around 13.7% YoY, comprising of Rs19.5tr long term debt and Rs6tr short term debt.

By the end of March 2021, the government’s long-term debt escalated by approximately 17% when compared to Rs16.71tr at the end of March’20 while it witnessed a meager increase of 0.4% on monthly basis. It is mainly due to the government’s decision to increase the maturity period of debt through converting its short-term borrowing from central bank to long-term debt.

Meanwhile, the short-term debt surged by 4% YoY while on monthly basis, it inflated by 12.7% to stand at Rs5.3tr.

Within the long-term domestic debt, the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) accounted for Rs14.4tr, and Saving Schemes accounted for Rs3.51tr. While in the short-term domestic debt, Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) amounted to Rs6tr.

A breakup of the Central Government External Debt shows that nearly Rs11.16tr came from long-term loans while Rs127billion came from short-term loans.

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