Pakistan still hopes to get a total of $32 billion in foreign funds in the current fiscal year, as it has largely kept unchanged its old projections, except for commercial loans and sovereign bonds, show new details shared with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The estimates include budgetary loans of $23 billion, grants of $1.5 billion and balance of payments support of $6 billion by the IMF and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the government sources. However, the projections appear optimistic as during the first quarter of current fiscal year only $4 billion could be received.
The revised projections have been shared with the IMF this week to convince the global lender that the country remains solvent and its financing needs are fully covered. However, the external debt repayment and interest cost are estimated at $25 billion, including the UAE loan of $2 billion that Pakistan is trying to get rolled over before February next year, said the sources.
