ISLAMABAD: The government has taken $ 2.7 billion loans from commercial banks and multilateral or bilateral institutions during the first five months of the current fiscal year 2017-18.
Documents available with Pakistan Today indicate that government has borrowed $ 377.90 million in November out of total $ 2.7 million loans.
Finance ministry estimated in budget 2017-18 that government will borrow $ 7.69 billion loans from commercial banks and multilateral & bilateral institutions.
Pakistan has also received $ 157.09 million grants in first five months of the current year from Asian Development Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Islamic Development Bank, USA, Germany, UK and Japan.
The government has also estimated to get $ 401 million grant from commercial banks and multilateral or bilateral institutions during the current fiscal year.
In the first five months, $ 221.88 million loans and grants taken from Asian Development Bank, $ 7.86 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), $ 69.88 million from IBRD, $ 106.65 million from The International Development Association (IDA), $ 55.25 million from Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and $ 660.31 million from Islamic Development Bank (IDB-S term).
The loans taken from commercial banks recorded $ 1092.37 million in five months. It is necessary to mention here that government had received $ 267 million from Citibank, $ 255 million from AG UBL and $ 500 from ICBC China during the first four months of the current fiscal year.
The government got these loans in energy efficiency programme, social protection development, high way investment, Peshawar Sustainable Bus rapid train project, Shorkot to Khanewal motorway, Mohmand Dam, for Afghan Refugee and Energy Efficient Investment programme, documents stated.
On a bilateral basis, the loans obtained from China have recorded $ 455.25 million, $ 1.32 million from France, and $ 25.96 million from the USA. Documents further mentioning that government has taken $ 12.51 million from Germany, $ 1.53 million from Kuwait and $ 89.44 million from the UK during the first five months of the ongoing year, in addition to this, $ 33.17 million from Japan and $ 22.50 million grants and loans received from Saudi Arabia.
An officer while talking to Pakistan Today said that government is receiving all these loans and grants but finance ministry is not using it properly. These loans and grants are being used as petty cash for the daily affairs of the country.
Pakistan total liquid foreign reserves, with the induction of $ 2,006 million, had reached to $ 20,686.7 million during the first week of December as Pakistan issued $ 2.5 billion international bonds in the international market at a profit rate of 5.625 to 6.875 percent to mortgage the portion of Chakwal-Lahore Motorway for five years.
While talking to Pakistan Today, the spokesperson of Finance Ministry stated that he does not exactly know what portion of the motorway has been put under mortgage but said he was quite sure that a portion of the motorway has been put for a mortgage.
