You can check the latest stats from SBP. The state bank has the vast majority of the reserves. Commercial banks usually only have 1/4 of the total reserves or even less. Last time I checked commercial banks had like 3-4 Billion or so...
Gov. has setup policy to keep high reserves so it can borrow more and more from IMF. And these borrowings are being spent on questionable projects.
You say that major economies have large debts, but the thing is, what ever they borrow they spend wisely. Pakistan does not spend wisely.
We are a charsi economy (for lack of better word). We have spent all of our own money on chars, have run out of money and now borrow money to buy more useless chars. We don't like to work, we are lazy and we just like to sit there and consume chars all day (all those questionable "chars projects").
It's only by chance that remittances have shot up recently and oil prices plunged that we are now able to afford more loans than ever before.
Govt Cannot Keep Foreign Reserves and Expect that they can Borrow MORE loan .... IMF / World Bank are not stupid .... they know that Liquid Reserves are of no significant value in Long Term Loans ...
For Example this is the Latest composition of Foreign Reserves
According to a statement by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the foreign reserves held by SBP was $14,918.3 million whereas the net foreign reserves held by banks was $4,900.4 million.
Pakistan’s liquid foreign reserves at $19,818mln -
Mean 15 Billion $ with State Bank & 5 Billion Dollar with commercial Banks ... Out of 15 Billion Dollars about half of them 7 Billion $ are from IMF & other Loan Tranche & Euro Bonds (Sukook) Open Market Loans ... (& Lenders knows a significant amount of this will go in Debt Servicing or Current Projects under going)
As for the Other Point Major Economy having large Debt & Using It wisely .. Yes Pakistan come way down in the list for proper spending but so does many other countries (Mainly Greece etc.) & yes we need to improve this scenario if we ever want to come out of this debt spiral .
& yes Oil Prices have helped securing better trade deficit & remittance are on the rise too All helping in increasing the Foreign Reserve & YES ... just the increase in this NUMBER is of no significant value ... thr needs to be alot more to be done ... otherwise if oil price go back to old rates we will be again looking down the hole with greater debt & less chance of coming out of it ..... NOW IS THE TIME if something needs to be done !
The Loan CAN be still Written Off .... If Pakistan Agrees to Dismantle it Nuclear Arsenal ... (written off mean America, Europe Buying it out) ... but it is not Likely that Pakistan would ever wants to do it ...
Instead of Loan Written Off ... A more Practical approach could be doing the lobbying to get the Corruption Money stored in Swiss & other Off Shore Accounts ... India have this issue too (may be a joint Lobbying) .... if we can even get half of it .. as per estimates it would be 80-100 Billion $ ...
OR someone grab hold of all Zaradris & Nawaz Sharifs, & the crime Partners & shake them well enough to give back the looted money which would surely be more than 20-30 Billion $
but i don't see any of the above happening ... so the only way forward is to
improve economy (Making CPEC a Reality in letter & spirit, Better Planned Power Generation & Distribution Network, Improved Infrastructure would be a good start) to an extent where we can have Lesser Debt-to-GDP ratio and thn start Paying Loans
without borrowing loans .... & thn
Not Taking New Loans ... Only this way we can get rid of this menace !
One Day May be , Hopefully , InshAllah , Ameen !
