Pakistan’s outstanding external debt, liabilities reach $133.5bn in Q1

November 11, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities (outstanding) reached $133.46bn as of September 2024, reflecting an increase of $2.42bn or 1.85% QoQ, the central bank data showed on Monday.

On a yearly basis, the country’s external debt and liabilities went up by $3.7bn or 2.85% as the figure stood at $129.76bn at the end of Q1 FY25.

According to the latest data issued by the SBP, 75.4% 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 $79.33bn during Q4 FY24, reflecting an increase of 1.51% QoQ, while going up by 1.05% YoY.

Within the external debt, the long-term debt by the end of the respective quarter stood at $78.45bn, up by 1.38% QoQ and 0.13% YoY.

Meanwhile, the short-term debt (less than one year) increased by 450.73% YoY to $877.251m compared to the $159.289m 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 $4.407bn and $4.839bn respectively during the quarter under review.

The foreign exchange liabilities outstanding during the period under review were recorded at $12.042bn, up by 2.65% QoQ and 2.25% 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 $7.352bn, down by 1.05% QoQ and 3.19% YoY.

The amount owed to banks stood at $7.077bn during the review period, in which short-term bank borrowing stood at $2.6bn, while long term borrowing was recorded at $1.3bn in the quarter under review.

Private sector debt, which attributed 9.27% of the total external debt amounted to $12.374bn by the end of 1QFY24, down by 1.58% QoQ and 6.12% YoY.

The last element of the total external debt and liabilities was debt liabilities to direct investors (Intercompany debt) which stood at $6.034bn.

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