Pakistan's total debt tops Rs58tr amid high interest rate, rupee depreciation
Business
Domestic liabilities stand at Rs36.5tr or 62.3pc
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) says the central government’s total debt jumped to Rs58.6 trillion on a year-on-year basis by the end of April after a 34.1 per cent increase.
The trend isn’t surprising as the government has been opting for more and more borrowings amid a depreciating rupee and its inability to enhance revenue collection by widening the tax base.
Read more: Finance ministry cites higher inflation, external debt payments as risks
According to the latest data released by the central bank on Monday, this increase was 2.6pc on a month-on-month basis.
When it comes to the domestic debt, the amount stands at Rs36.5tr while the external debt accounted reached the Rs22tr level during the first 10 months of the fiscal year 2022-23. It means the percentage-wise share of domestic debt is 62.3pc and of external 37.6pc.
Read more: Centre's debt stocks surge to historic Rs57tr by March-end: SBP
A detailed look at the domestic debt shows that the largest share was of the federal government bonds which represented almost Rs25tr worth of loans. Short-term loans Rs7.2tr and unfunded debt Rs2.9tr that included money borrowed through National Savings Schemes are the other contributors.
Funds obtained through federal government bonds rose 31.6pc from a year ago while the increase in the stock of short-term loans remained 29.4pc.
The alarming figures reflect the prolonged balance-of-payments crisis faced by the country at a time when the domestic debt servicing has become a huge challenge thanks to the unprecedented interest rate hikes and record-high inflation.
