During the initial seven months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan obtained slightly over $9 billion in foreign loans, an amount deemed inadequate to elevate foreign exchange reserves into double digits or meet financing demands.
The Economic Affairs Division recently disclosed disbursement figures for July-January of fiscal year 2023-24, subsequent to the Ministry of Finance revising down its foreign loans projection by 35%.
Data from both the Economic Affairs Division and the central bank revealed that Pakistan acquired $9.2 billion in foreign loans during this period, in addition to $6 billion in deposit rollovers from Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), culminating in total external sector inflows of $15.1 billion, which constitute 60% of its overall needs.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has adjusted Pakistan’s gross financing requirement to $25 billion due to a reduced current account deficit and the restructuring of $1.2 billion in Chinese-guaranteed debt.
These loans were obtained for budgetary support, balance of payments, and project financing purposes. In January, Pakistan received over $1 billion following the disbursement of a $706 million loan tranche by the IMF.
