Pakistan received $763.03 million in foreign economic assistance during the first month of ongoing fiscal year, nearly 9% higher than the $694.53 million received during the same period a year earlier, according to data released by the Economic Affairs Division on Monday.
The July inflows included multilateral and bilateral loans and grants, as well as foreign commercial borrowing through the Naya Pakistan Certificate scheme.
Pakistan received $252.83 million in multilateral loans and grants during July, compared with $266.93 million in the previous month. China provided $146.62 million in loans during the month, according to the data.
Of the total foreign economic assistance, $343.99 million was received for budgetary support, including $66.03 million in program loans and $22.71 million in short-term financing from the Islamic Development Bank. The data showed that $432.73 million of the total inflows came through non-project loans, while $330.30 million was received for project financing.
Bilateral assistance
Pakistan received $19.60 million in bilateral loans and grants during July. The inflows included $7.31 million in loans from Saudi Arabia, $1.68 million from Germany and $1.30 million from France.
The country also received $8.26 million in grants from Germany, $940,000 from Japan and $110,000 from Saudi Arabia.
Multilateral financing
Multilateral loans accounted for $252.83 million of the July inflows. The International Development Association provided $130.65 million, while the Asian Development Bank contributed $59.17 million and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development provided $29.22 million.
The Islamic Development Bank’s short-term facility contributed $22.71 million, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank provided $6.57 million. Pakistan also received $2 million from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, $1.75 million from the Islamic Development Bank and $760,000 from the OPEC Fund.
The data separately showed $9.05 million in bilateral grants during July, including $5.73 million from IBRD and $3.31 million from IDA.
Multilateral loans totaled $243.78 million after accounting for the reported grant component.
Naya Pakistan Certificates
Foreign commercial borrowing through the Naya Pakistan Certificate scheme amounted to $343.99 million in July. Of this amount, $97.32 million was raised through the conventional facility, while $246.67 million came through the Islamic facility.
The July inflows come as Pakistan seeks to strengthen external financing and build foreign exchange buffers while meeting its financing requirements under the ongoing fiscal year.