Pakistan’s external financing stands at $318m in October

November 18, 2023 (MLN): The country secured external financing worth $318.1 million in October 2023 from multiple financing sources, the latest monthly report by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) showed.

The total amount of $318.1 million comprises $314.65m in loans and the remaining $3.45m in grants from various sources.

The total external financing in 4MFY24 stood at 3.848 billion against the annual budget estimates of $17.62bn for FY24.

Out of $318.1m, the government obtained a $201.75m loan for non-project aid that includes $101.75m in the form of program/budgetary support assistance to restructure Pakistan’s economy, while the remaining $100m has been obtained for SFD oil facility during the month.

Going into details made available by EAD, the disbursement from bilateral and multilateral development partners maintained a strong trend as it totaled $216.36m in October and $1.033bn of foreign economic assistance during 4MFY24. These healthy inflows also helped to improve foreign exchange reserves.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs noted that the country continued to depend on foreign commercial borrowing as it amounted to $101.75m, which was obtained through from Naya Pakistan Certificate in October 2023.

During the month, the foreign assistance obtained by Pakistan through multilateral sources totaled nearly $107.02m in October and $597.49m in 4MFY24.

Amongst the multilateral development partners, in October, the International Development Association-World Bank (IDA) provided $62.50m, followed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with $25.75m, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with $8.83m, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with $5.04m, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with $4.9m.

On a cumulative basis, total financing through multilateral development partners stood at $597.49m.

The monthly bulletin revealed that the collective disbursement from bilateral donors amounted to $109.34m in October, wherein Pakistan received $100m from Saudi Arabia (Oil Facility), followed by France with $3.99m, Japan with $3.69m, USA with $1.12m and Korea with 0.54m during the month under review.

During the first four months of FY24, disbursements amounted to $435.61 million, with the majority, $400 million, coming from Saudi Arabia (Oil Facility).

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