KARACHI: The federal government’s total debt (domestic and external) stocks rose over Rs 4 trillion during the first half (July-Dec) of this fiscal year (FY24).
Analysts said the federal government’s total domestic and external debt stocks continuing to increase due to massive borrowing for the fiscal deficit as revenue collection is not sufficient enough to meet the expenditures.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday revealed that the federal government’s total debt increased by 7.14 percent or Rs 4.347 trillion during the first half of this fiscal year. The central government’s total debt stocks (domestic and external) surged to Rs 65.188 trillion at the end of December 2023 compared to Rs 60.841 trillion at the end of June 2023.
Govt debt stocks hit all-time high of Rs59trn
A detailed analysis revealed that a major increase was witnessed in the domestic debt, which rose by 10 percent, while external debt recorded an increase of 2.5 percent during July-Dec of FY24.
The federal government’s total domestic debt stocks reached Rs 42.588 trillion in December 2023 up from Rs 38.810 trillion in June 2023, depicting an increase of Rs 3.777 trillion. The country’s external debt surged from Rs 22.031 trillion to reach Rs 22.601 trillion, up by Rs 570 billion in the first half of FY24.
The central government’s long-term domestic debt increased to Rs 34.099 trillion in December 2023 up from Rs 29.332 trillion in June 2023. Meanwhile, the government’s short-term domestic debt showed a significant decline of 10 percent or Rs 968 billion, clocking in at Rs 8.367 trillion in December 2023, as compared to Rs 9.335 trillion in June 2023.
Within the long-term domestic debt, permanent debt is amounted to Rs 30.889 trillion, unfunded debt is Rs 2.831 trillion, floating debt is Rs 8.37 trillion.
Year or Year basis, the total debt of the central government’s total debt surged by 28 percent during the calendar year 2023 from Rs 51.1 trillion in December 2022 to Rs 65.19 trillion in December 2023. The massive increase in debt burden is primarily attributed to borrowing from domestic and foreign sources to cover the fiscal deficit.
US Dollar, last day Weighted Average Customer Exchange Rates was Rs 286.3905 in June 2023 as against Rs 281.9244 in December for calculation of debt.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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