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South Korea defers Pakistan’s loan worth $19.91m

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  • Pakistan inks Debt Service Suspension Agreement with Korea.
  • This amount will now be repaid over a period of six years.
  • Pakistan has already signed 104 pacts with 21 bilateral creditors.

ISLAMABAD: In a sigh of relief, the Republic of Korea deferred Pakistan’s loan worth $19.911 million, under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) framework on Monday.

The cash-strapped country inked a Debt Service Suspension Agreement with Korea on Monday. This amount, initially had to be repaid between July and December 2021, will now be repaid over a period of six years (including a one-year grace period) in semi-annual instalments, said a statement issued by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD).

Due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G-20 DSSI has provided the fiscal space which was necessary to deal with the urgent health and economic needs of the country.

The total amount of debt, that is to be suspended under the DSSI framework, covering the period of repayment from May 2020 to December 2021, stands at $3,686 million.

Pakistan has already concluded and signed 104 agreements with 21 bilateral creditors for the deferment of its debt repayments under the G-20 DSSI, amounting to $3,633 million.

The signing of the above-mentioned agreement brings this total to $3,653 million. Negotiations for the remaining agreements to be signed under the G-20 DSSI are ongoing.

It is pertinent to mention here, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reluctant to strike a staff-level agreement without seeking confirmation on the external financing gap, Pakistan, meanwhile, conveyed to the global creditor’s staff to conclude the ninth review otherwise budgetary framework for 2023-24 would not be shared.

The lingering differences between the IMF and Pakistan are heading towards an “unbreakable deadlock” whereby Pakistani authorities claim that the confirmation of $4 billion financing was shared with the IMF even with its full details and break-up but the Fund was playing “politics” by not moving towards striking an agreement despite passing six months period.

The ninth review was due in November 2022 but the two sides have not yet reached consensus.

The patience of Pakistani high-ups is running out as they argue before the IMF officials that Islamabad should be treated as a member of the Washington-based creditor, not a beggar.

The Pakistani authorities are hopeful that the current account deficit would remain surplus for April 2023 when the numbers would come out in the next few days.

The financing gap of $4 billion was fulfilled by getting confirmation as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conveyed to the IMF that they were ready to provide an additional $2 billion in deposits and UAE $1 billion.

The World Bank is committed to providing $450 million RISE-II after fulfilment of four prior conditions and $250 million by the AIIB. Pakistan also received firm commitments for getting $350 million out of total Geneva pledges for flood-affected areas.

The only remaining amount is $1 billion from commercial banks and they are waiting for IMF’s deal.

The Pakistani officials argue that the external financing requirements had been fulfilled, so there was no justification for using delaying tactics to avoid signing the agreement.

Keeping in view this situation, the Ministry of Finance is all set to share the Budget Strategy Paper (BSP) with the federal cabinet without sharing it with the IMF in its meeting scheduled to be held today (Monday).

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In January 2025, RDA inflows reach 9.564 billion USD.

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Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.

The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.

Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.

By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.

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FBR lowers Karachi’s built-up structure property valuation rates

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A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.

The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.

A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.

In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.

Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.

Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.

In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.

In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.

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Remittances Increase 25.2% in January 2025: $3.0 Billion Inflow

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Remittances from Pakistani workers totalled US$3.0 billion in January 2025, representing a 25.2% increase from the previous year.

The cumulative remittances for July through January of FY25 were 20.8 billion dollars, up 31.7 percent from 15.8 billion dollars during the same period in FY24.

In January 2025, the United States of America contributed 298.5 million dollars, the United Kingdom contributed 443.6 million dollars, the United Arab Emirates contributed 621.7 million dollars, and Saudi Arabia contributed 728.3 million dollars.

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