The government has decided to borrow Rs3.5 trillion from the banking system till the coming January as it still needs resources to finance budget deficit despite growth in nontax revenue, it was learnt.
The government aims to sell domestic debt up to the end of January 2021 to finance the budget deficit that stayed at Rs440 billion or 0.9 percent of gross domestic product during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year.
The improvement in the budget deficit was attributed to an increase in non-tax revenues, while tax revenue rose 1.8 percent to Rs587 billion.
The State Bank of Pakistan said it would auction Rs2.4 trillion of three-, six- and 12-month debts through market treasury bills in the November to January period.
The central bank also set to sell Rs375 billion fixed rate Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) of worth of three, five-, 10-, 15- and 20-year and Rs420 billion worth of floating rate PIBs.
The SBP would also auction Rs140 billion worth of 2-year PIBs during the period under review.
The SBP will sell Rs105 billion worth of a five-year variable rate government Ijara sukuk.
It will also sell Rs45 billion worth of Ijara sukuk based on fixed rental rate, according to the central bank’s auction calendar.
Analysts said the target for treasury bills is Rs2.4 trillion less than the maturing amount of Rs2.9 trillion, showing that the reliance on the short-term borrowing from treasury bills to remain low.
The government is likely to depend on the long-term PIBs to meet its financing requirements.
The government’s domestic debt rose 1 percent to Rs23.5 trillion at the end of August.
The government stopped borrowing from the central bank as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF) condition to create a fiscal discipline.
In late March, IMF paused discussions with Pakistan on the second review of the three-year extended fund facility program following the coronavirus outbreak.
That review’s conclusion is imperative for the country to bag the third tranche of around $450 million under the facility.
However, the Fund approved $1.4 billion under the rapid financing instrument to help the economy weather the coronavirus storm.
The country received $991 million as the first installment soon after the EFF approval in July last year and following thickened uncertainty about the agreement surrounding in the air for a long time. The second tranche amounted to $452 million.
