Central govt debt swells by Rs5.8tr in January

March 08, 2022 (MLN): The total debt of the central government during the month of January 2022 surged by Rs5.85 trillion or 16% YoY to clock in at Rs42.4tr against Rs36.5tr recorded in January 2021, the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday.

The rising debt burden may be attributed to continuous borrowing from domestic and foreign sources to cover the fiscal deficit.

As per details made available by SBP, the larger portion of the debt was domestic that clocked in at Rs27.4tr, signifying a growth of around 12% YoY, comprising Rs21.66tr long-term debt and Rs5.7tr short term debt while the remaining was external.

By the end of January 2022, the government’s long-term debt increased by 12% YoY when compared to Rs19.36tr recorded in the same period a year ago.

Similarly, the short-term debt jumped by 11% YoY as opposed to Rs5.13tr in January 2021.

Within the long-term domestic debt, the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) accounted for Rs15.58tr. Meanwhile, in the short-term domestic debt, Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) amounted to Rs5.65tr, up by 10% YoY.

Borrowing through Naya Pakistan Schemes witnessed a 4.6x increase to Rs40.2bn as of January 2022, compared to Rs8.7bn in the same month last year.

A breakup of the central government external debt shows that nearly Rs14.7tr came from long-term loans while Rs261.3bn came from short-term loans.

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