In Islamabad, Pakistan received a loan of $9.8 billion during the first 9 months (July to March) of the current fiscal year 2023-24. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has released the details of the loan received by Pakistan, stating that during the first 9 months of the current fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistan received a loan of $9.8 billion, which is $2 billion less than the $7.8 billion loan received during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Pakistan has set a target of taking a loan of $17.4 billion during the current fiscal year, excluding the $1.9 billion received from the IMF and the $1 billion loan received from the UAE.
The loan target for the current fiscal year has been reduced from $17.62 billion to $17.4 billion. There is a possibility of the current account deficit for the current year to be $2 billion instead of $6 billion, while the issuance of a $1.5 billion Eurobond program has been postponed due to higher interest rates.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the government of Pakistan did not take any new loan from commercial banks during the first 9 months of the current fiscal year, but in March, it received a loan of $638 million from the World Bank, $469 million from the Asian Development Bank, and $255 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
In October, the government received a loan of $318 million and in September, $321 million. During the first 9 months of the current fiscal year, $1.23 billion was received from Saudi Arabia as time deposits and oil credit, while $1.43 billion was received from the World Bank and $665 million from the Asian Development Bank.
According to the figures from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, overseas Pakistanis bought $781.5 million worth of new Pakistan Certificates and received a loan of $4.7 billion as budget support.