Govt secured $26.7b in loans in FY25

Pakistan secured a record $26.7 billion in foreign loans during the last fiscal year, nearly half of it in the form of rollovers of previously obtained loans, indicating the country's deepening dependence on multilateral and bilateral creditors. The $26.7 billion disbursed during the fiscal year 2024-25 was slightly higher than the preceding fiscal year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and the Ministry of Finance. Of the $26.7 billion in foreign loans, only $3.4 billion or nearly 13% was received for project financing, official details released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Tuesday revealed. Such low receipts for project financing underscore the difficulties in repaying the loans, as most foreign borrowings are used for budgetary support and to build foreign exchange reserves, neither of which generate revenues for repayment.