Govt debt mounts to Rs44.6tr by May end

July 7, 2022 (MLN):  The central government’s total debt has increased by 17% YoY to Rs44.6trillion by the end of May’22, when compared to Rs37.99tr reported in May 2021, the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Thursday.

On a sequential basis, the central government debt has moved up by around Rs934 billion or 2% MoM, compared to Rs43.7tr recorded in April 2022.

The increase in debt burden is primarily attributed to 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 Rs29tr, signifying a growth of 11% YoY, comprising Rs23.36tr long-term debt and Rs5.64tr short term debt while the remaining was external.

By the end of May 2022, the government’s long-term debt increased by 21% YoY when compared to Rs19.38tr recorded in the same month a year ago.

On the other hand, the short-term debt declined by around 15% YoY to Rs5.67tr as opposed to Rs6.57r in April 2022 and Rs6.6tr in May 2021.

Within the long-term domestic debt, the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) accounted for Rs17.17tr, up by 20% YoY. Meanwhile, in the short-term domestic debt, Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) amounted to Rs5.59tr, down by 16% YoY.

Borrowing through Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) witnessed an increase of 26% to Rs31.3bn as of May 2022, compared to Rs24.9bn in the same month last year. However, on a monthly basis, borrowing through NPCs went down by 10%.

A breakup of the central government's external debt shows that nearly Rs15.32tr came from long-term loans while short-term loans clocked in at Rs272bn.

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