Multilateral sources provided 34pc of country’s overall external loans

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s major source of foreign lending is multilateral sources which provided 34 percent of the country’s overall external loans.

The country’s foreign debt and liabilities increased to $115.7 billion by December 2020. The public external debt amounted to $90.5 billion. The official data showed that Pakistan’s lending from multilateral sources is $33.74 billion, which is highest among all sources of the lending. The country took $21.873 billion from the Non-Paris Club Bilateral and $11.547 billion from the Paris Club.

In multilateral sources, Pakistan has taken $13.665 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and $831 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Similarly, the country’s loan from International Development Association (IDA), part of the World Bank, was recorded at $15.562 billion and $1.745 billion was taken from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) of World Bank. Pakistan has borrowed $1.517 billion from the Islamic Development Bank. International Fund for Agriculture Development has provided loan of $288 million to the government of Pakistan.

The Paris club outstanding loan against Pakistan is $11.547 billion. In Paris club, the country has borrowed $1.748 billion from France, $1.422 billion from Germany, $1.108 billion from United States, $5.810 billion from Japan, $433 million from Korea, $403 million from Canada and $175 million from Italy.

In Non-Paris Club Bilateral, Pakistan has borrowed $18.029 billion from China, which also Includes PBOC currency swap and SAFE deposits. Meanwhile, the country has taken $2.028 billion from United Arab Emirates (UAE), $954 million from Saudi Arabia and $700m from other sources.

Pakistan’s external loans from commercial sources are $9.638 billion. In commercial sources, the country has taken $6.735 billion from China and $2.903 billion from others. The government of Pakistan has generated $5.832 billion from the bonds, which were issued in international market. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s outstanding debt against International Monetary Fund (IMF) is $7.493 billion by December last year.

The country’s external debt and liabilities are expected to reach $120 billion by the end of this fiscal year. COVID-19 has further intensified the country’s debt situation. Till December last year, external debt and liabilities totaled $115.7 billion compared to $112.7 billion till June-end. Total external debt and liabilities were $110.7 billion till December 2019. External debt and liabilities (EDL) were increasing sharply even before the start of the coronavirus pandemic due to falling exports, sharp depreciation of exchange rate, tight monetary policy and a decline in non-debt creating inflows.