October 6, 2026
State Firms’ Debt Hits Rs10.1tr, Far Above the Bank’s Own Count
A finance ministry report puts state-owned enterprise debt at Rs10.1 trillion — Rs7.1 trillion more than the State Bank reports for the same borrowers.
Articles for tag: Circular debt, Discos, Ministry of Finance, pensions, Power Sector, public debt, SOEs
September 3, 2026
Pakistan Raises $3bn in Eurobond Sale, Its Largest Ever, at 7.5pc and 7.9pc
Pakistan raised $3bn in a dual-tranche Eurobond — $1.75bn over 5.5 years at 7.5pc and $1.25bn over 10 years at 7.9pc — drawing nearly $6bn in orders in what the Finance Ministry calls its largest international capital market transaction.
Govt decides against sale of TCP, PNSC
Islamabad: The government on Monday decided against privatizing three more state-owned companies, including the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), which intervenes in the commodity market but is saddled with huge claims of Rs 287 billion. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs). It declared TCP, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) as core entities, which will remain under government control. However, the functions of these entities can be carried out by the private sector, but the government has decided not to cut spending by closing
PASSCO seeks more credit than wheat costs
Islamabad: The Finance Ministry has raised objections to the cash credit limit sought by Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco), which is higher than the cost of wheat procured from farmers. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) recently approved a cash credit line of Rs 169 billion for Passco and set the wheat procurement target at a price of Rs 3,900 per 40 kg. Sources said the finance ministry has indicated that the cost of buying wheat from Passco will be around Rs 136 billion. He noted that the cash credit line proposed for the company was greater than the
Exim bank ineligible recruitments
The central bank advised the ministry to review Buhari’s eligibility. However, despite these contradictions, the ministry secured an extension of Buhari’s tenure last July. Photo: FILE Islamabad: The federal government has decided to hire a new head of Pakistan’s export-import (Exim) bank amid revelations of a discrepancy in the current chairman’s age that should have made him ineligible for the appointment four years ago. Sources in the finance ministry told The Express Tribune that a decision has been taken to expedite the process for the appointment of the managing director and chairman of Exim Bank of Pakistan. This decision was
Audit reveals executive profits from SOEs
Islamabad: The Auditor General of Pakistan has made a serious observation about the actual incomes and tax contributions of dozens of Finance Ministry officials who serve on the boards of 60 state-owned companies, yet there is no trace of their earnings from these companies. The federal auditor – the country’s treasury watchdog – raised an objection when it audited the Ministry of Finance for the financial year 2022-23 and the audit year 2024. According to the file provided to AGP, there were 60 State-owned Enterprises (A .EE) where the executives of the Finance Department were represented as a board of
The debt exceeds the legal limit by 14.5 trillion
Islamabad: An official document reveals that the federal government is carrying a debt of Rs 14.5 trillion above the statutory limit set by Parliament, failing to implement its debt management strategy. The skewed 2024 Debt Policy Statement from the Treasury reveals that during the 2022-23 financial year, the federal government breached the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act and failed to implement the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy. The Ministry of Finance is legally required to produce this statement annually, but amid a rapid deterioration in the country’s debt situation, critical information is being omitted from the report, putting transparency at
State expenditures amount to 4.8 trillion
Islamabad: Federal government spending rose to Rs4.83 trillion in five months due to unmanageable interest costs and a slight opening of the public purse for other spending, raising questions about claims to have achieved fiscal consolidation. Finance ministry sources revealed that the tight control maintained on spending till October was slightly relaxed last month, resulting in an estimated Rs580 billion jump in the federal budget deficit in just one month. During the July-November period of this fiscal year, the federal government’s total expenditure rose to Rs 4.83 trillion, an increase of nearly Rs 1.5 trillion or 43% compared to the
Projects face long delays
Islamabad: More than half of the $6.7 billion World Bank-financed portfolio of federal projects has been declared unsatisfactory or problematic by the lender, underscoring deep-rooted problems that have remained unresolved for years due to serious governance issues. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the World Bank, Pakistan’s largest creditor, recently completed a review of $6.7 billion in loans for 20 projects. These programs are administered by the federal government. The details showed that only $2.9 billion worth of projects were on track, although some of them were also facing problems that required solutions. Progress on a large chunk of projects
