February 17, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan's outstanding external debt and liabilities decreased to $126.35 billion at the end of December 2022, marking a 3.28% YoY decline from $130.64bn recorded in December 2021, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released on Thursday.
The country's external debt stocks experienced a 2.95% QoQ decline in the first half of the fiscal year 2023 compared to $130.19bn in June 2022. In the second quarter of FY23, the total external debt and liabilities decreased by $295 million or 0.23% QoQ from $126.64bn in 1QFY23.
The SBP data revealed that 77% of the debt was attributed to public external debt, including the government's long-term and short-term external debt, IMF loans to the central bank, and foreign exchange liabilities.
The government's external debt, which includes both long-term and short-term external debt, decreased by 5.82% YoY to $78.95bn during 2QFY23 compared to $83.82bn in December 2021 and remained flat on a quarterly basis.
IMF loans to the central bank and federal government were recorded at $2.23bn and $5.39bn, respectively, while foreign exchange liabilities outstanding were $10.98bn during the period under review.
The long-term debt within public external debt decreased by 5.19% YoY to $78.26bn by the end of 2QFY23 and remained flat compared to the previous quarter. Short-term debt (less than one year) declined by 46.12% YoY to $688mn compared to the figure recorded at the end of 2QFY22.
Short-term bank borrowing reached $2.47bn at the end of Q2 of FY23, decreasing by 19.01% YoY and 5.79% QoQ. The outstanding external debt of public sector enterprises (PSEs) during 2QFY23 stood at $7.91bn, up from $6.83bn recorded in the same period last year.
Private sector external debt increased by 2.25% YoY to $11.49bn in 1HFY23 but decreased by $180bn on a quarterly basis.
However, official liquid reserves decreased from $17.78bn in December 2021 to $5.66bn, reflecting a decline of 68.16% YoY. Similarly, it went down by 28.96% in 2QFY23 from $7.97bn in 1QFY23.
Copyright Mettis Link News
Posted on: 2023-02-17T12:27:38+05:00
