Govt secures $47.55bn foreign loans in 43 months

Struggling with current account challenges and foreign exchange reserves, the PTI government borrowed more than $12 billion from abroad in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (7MFY22), almost 81 per cent higher than foreign loans it secured in comparable period last year. The monthly report of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MEA) on foreign inflows showed that the government crossed almost 86pc of the target for foreign assistance set for the whole fiscal year. This does not include more than $1.2bn of foreign debt in Naya Pakistan Certificates from overseas Pakistanis which are not reported by the MEA. This also does not include about more than $1bn secured from the International Monetary Fund which flowed early this month. This showed the government’s heavy reliance on foreign loans to finance rising current account deficit and maintain foreign exchange reserves needed to finance higher imports and earlier loans.