Private sector borrowing slips 37pc in July-March

Amid an uncertain economic outlook with high downside risks, the private sector’s participation in economic growth remains unnoticeable as it is not borrowing from banks for business expansion. However, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report sees Pakistan’s economy expanding at 1.9 per cent in FY24 driven by a rebound in investments by the private sector linked to progress on reform measures. The ADB’s report surprised many analysts keenly watching the slowing economy, which contracted by 0.2pc in FY23. The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) latest data showed that the private sector borrowing dropped 36.95pc to just Rs191.5 billion in the first nine months of FY24, compared to Rs299bn in the same period last year when the GDP growth was negative. However, the ADB believes the private sector rebounded this year. The SBP data portrays a different picture.