Some good news.....


$2.45 billion drop in foreign debts in 9 months
AHMED MUKHTAR
ISLAMABAD (May 12 2002) : The total external debt of the country has reduced substantially from $38.43 billion to $35.98 billion. This decrease was possible by a $1 billion fall in external liabilities which decreased from $3.7 billion to $2.7 billion.

These figures are of March 2002 against the last data of June 2001.

Private non-guaranteed debt has reduced from $2.4 billion to $2 billion. Public and publicly guaranteed debt has reduced from $30 billion to $29.16 billion.

A significant shift is visible in the commercial loans/credits from $1.1 billion to $510 million. This was the most costly debt available to the government to repay its previous loans.

Out of the public and publicly guaranteed debt the medium and long term debt (more than one-year loans) constituted $29.33 billion in June 2001 which has now reduced to $28.71 billion. These medium and long-term debts consist of the debt of Paris Club, which has increased from $12 billion to $12.4 billion. This medium and long-term debt also includes multilateral debt, which was $13.4 billion and is now slightly curtailed to $13.3 billion.

Other bilateral loan out of the medium and long-term debt was $676 million on June 2001 and has now become $417 million. Foreign currency bonds of the NHA were earlier at $219 million and now amount to $198 million. Military debt has reduced from $825 million to $778 million. A significant shift is visible in the commercial loans/credits, which have reduced from $1.1 billion to $510 million.

The short-term debt was $675 million and has been brought down to $452 million. This includes IDB loan, which was $276 and has been reduced to $234 million. The other loans under the same head were $399 and have been reduced to $218 million.

Under the foreign currency liabilities the foreign currency accounts have been reduced from $1.49 billion to $687 million. FE-45 has been cut to $368 million from $774 million. FE-31 Deposits (incremental) was $326 million and has come down to $319 million.

The special US dollar bonds were $1.37 billion and were abated to $1.1 billion during the nine months from June 2001 to March 2002. Other liabilities under the same head of foreign exchange were cut from $721 million to $371 million.

As far as the multilateral transactions are concerned the debt of IMF has increased from $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion.

The other forex liabilities payable in rupees were $1.24 billion and were cut to $998 million.

Copyright 2002 Business Recorder (http://www.brecorder.com)