Pakistan’s outstanding external debt, liabilities reach $130.4bn in Q3 FY24

May 15, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities (outstanding) reached $130.4bn at the end of Q3 FY24, reflecting a slight decrease of $1.45bn or 0.79% QoQ, the central bank data showed on Wednesday.

On a yearly basis, the country’s external debt and liabilities went up by $2.92bn or 2.21% YoY during Q3 FY24 as the figure stood at $127.48bn at the end of Q3 FY23.

According to the latest data issued by the SBP, 75.5% of the entire debt is attributed to public external debt; the combination of 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 stood at $78.94bn during Q3 FY24, reflecting a decrease of 1.53% QoQ, while going up by 1.6% YoY.

Within the external debt, the long-term debt by the end of the respective quarter stood at $78.62bn, down by 1.8% QoQ, while up by 1.56% YoY.

Meanwhile, the short-term debt (less than one year) increased by 13.46% YoY to $318.194m compared to the $280.43m recorded in the same period last year.

The data further shows that International Monetary Fund (IMF's) loans to the central bank and federal government stood at $4.76bn and $2.98bn respectively during the quarter under review.

The foreign exchange liabilities outstanding during the period under review were recorded at $11.82bn, down by 1% QoQ, while up by by 6.49% YoY.

Apart from public external debt, the remaining outstanding amount comprises borrowing from public sector enterprises, banks, and the private sector.

Outstanding external debt of public sector enterprises (PSEs) clocked in at $7.8bn, a decrease by 0.59% QoQ, while an increase of 3.43% YoY.

The amount owed to banks stood at $6.75bn during the review period, in which short-term bank borrowing stood at $2.36bn, while long term borrowing was recorded at $1.3bn in the quarter under review.

Private sector debt, which attributed 9.94% of the total external debt amounted to $12.96bn by the end of 1QFY24, an increase of 3% QoQ, while a decrease of 0.42% YoY.

The last element of the total external debt and liabilities was debt liabilities to direct investors (Intercompany debt) which stood at $4.4bn.

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