ISLAMABAD: The federal government has borrowed Rs215 billion from commercial banks for budgetary support.
As per details, the incumbent government borrowed Rs215 billion from commercial banks by selling treasury bills.
The government got proposals of Rs646 billion compared to the banks’ desired loan amount of Rs850 billion.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) auctioned T-bills of Rs206 billion for a three-month term, Rs6 billion for a six-month period, and Rs3 billion for a one-year term.
In comparison to November 16, the central bank has offered T-bills at a higher interest rate. Three-month Treasury bills now have a rate of 16.99 percent, up 129 basis points from before.
In the meantime, the rates for six-month T-bills and 12-month T-bills both increased by 107 basis points to 16.8 percent and 16.84 percent, respectively.
Earlier on November 29, the Ministry of Finance confirmed that Pakistan received $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“Government of Pakistan has today received $500 million from AIIB. The funds are deposited with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and will augment our reserves,” the ministry said in a post on its Twitter handle.
The money provided by the AIIB is essential for the cash-strapped nation, whose foreign exchange reserves have been decreasing recently. On November 18, the country’s reserves totaled $7.8 billion.
According to a statement released by the SBP on Friday, “due to external debt repayment, SBP’s reserves declined by $134 million to $7,825.7 million during the week ending on November 18, 2022.”
