ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expecting to receive less than $1.5 billion foreign assistance from the multilateral and bilateral donors during the fiscal year 2015-16.
The country had received $6.23 billion during eleven months (July-May) of the last fiscal year from the donors, which is 68 percent of budget estimates, according to the official documents of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD). The inflows of June have yet to be finalized. However, an official of the EAD informed that Pakistan had provisionally received over one billion dollars in previous month that included $500 million from the World Bank and $300 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
However, sources said that government could not receive entire amount. The government had estimated foreign assistance of about $9.18 billion for 2015-16 including grants and loans, which was higher by 12 percent than the revised estimates of 2014-15 and 23 percent higher than the budget estimates of 2014-15.
The multilateral and bilateral donors had adopted tight cash release policy for the Pakistan during previous fiscal year, which forced the government to take heavy loans from the commercial banks. It took $1.4 billion from the commercial banks against the budgeted estimates of $200 million loans for the last financial year (2015-16). The government took these loans at higher interest rate of up to 5.25 percent in order to increase its foreign exchange reserves.
China is expected to be the largest single donor to Pakistan with a budgeted inflow of $3.05 billion. The country received $976.4 million from China during July-May period of the year 2015-16. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) disbursed $801.23 million in the period under review against the budgeted estimates of $1020.4 million. The ADB had released $300 million in June, which would increase share.
The documents showed that government had generated $500 million from the auction of Eurobond. It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan in its last budget planned to generate one billion dollars from the auction of the Eurobond during previous financial year.
International Development Association (IDA) released $10.31 million in May, bringing the total disbursement to $759.94 million. UK disbursed $1.59 million in May, bringing the total disbursement to $257.06 million in the current financial year. USA disbursed $4.56 million, International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) $26.56 million and IDB $7.47 million in the month of May, brining the total disbursement to $155.54 million, $114.94 million and $113.84 million respectively. Kuwait disbursed $48.71 million, Germany $41.39 million, IDB (S-Term) $861.31 million in the current fiscal year.
