SOE debt explodes to Rs10.1 trillion

Summary

• Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) accumulated debt of around Rs10.1 trillion by the end of December 2025, highlighting growing financial pressure on the government and raising concerns over the effectiveness of ongoing reforms.
• Government financial support through subsidies, grants, loans and equity injections averaged Rs6.6 billion per day, or roughly Rs1.7 trillion annually.
• Combined circular debt reached about Rs3.3 trillion during the period despite restructuring measures and arrangements aimed at managing outstanding power-sector liabilities.

AI Generated Summary

Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) accumulated debt of around Rs10.1 trillion by the end of December 2025, highlighting growing financial pressure on the government and raising concerns over the effectiveness of ongoing reforms.

A Finance Ministry monitoring report showed that SOE debt increased by Rs1.3 trillion, or 14.3%, in one year. The figure was also substantially higher than the Rs2.95 trillion in SOE debt and liabilities reported by the State Bank of Pakistan for the same period.

The report found that loss-making state companies were incurring an average loss of Rs2.8 billion for every working day, equivalent to about Rs730 billion annually. Government financial support through subsidies, grants, loans and equity injections averaged Rs6.6 billion per day, or roughly Rs1.7 trillion annually.