Pakistan needs to arrange $4.8bn for debt repayment in current fiscal year: SBP chief
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He is confident of $6bn loan rollover by friendly nations
KARACHI (Dunya News) – State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad says the country required to arrange a $24.3 billion for debt repayments during the current fiscal year 2023-24.
Expressing his views during a discussion with experts, Ahmad said out of the total, the principal amount stood at $20.4 billion while the interest repayments stood at $3.9 billion. Pakistan had already paid $10.9 billion of the principal and $2.6 billion as interest, he added.
It means Islamabad still needs to ensure repayment of $10.8 billion by June 30 to meet its debt obligations.
However, the SBP governor also talked about loan rollover – an exercise repeatedly carried out by friendly nations like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China.
He said the country was expecting a rollover of $2 billion during the next two weeks – a move that will boost the foreign reserves and help dealing with debt obligations. They had planned another rollover of $4 billion, Jameel explained.
It means the loan rollover will reduce the remaining debt repayments to $4.8 billion, shows the figures shared by Ahmad.
