Pakistan's SOEs incurred Rs 437bn in six months

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has revealed that total 437 billion rupees has been extended to different State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) during the first six months of the fiscal year 2024.

As per a report from the Ministry of Finance, subsidies amounting to 232 billion rupees were allocated during this period, alongside grants that reached 120 billion rupees from July to December 2023.

In contrast to the previous fiscal year, when public institutions received 85 billion rupees in loans during the same period, this year’s financial assistance has seen a notable increase.

The report indicates that the Sui Southern Gas Company received the highest subsidy, totaling 47 billion rupees, followed closely by MEPCO, which was awarded 42.56 billion rupees.

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Other entities, including CASECO and HESCO, received subsidies of 26.24 billion and 18.34 billion rupees, respectively. Additionally, Utility Stores were granted 11.63 billion rupees in subsidies.

In the first half of the fiscal year, the Power Holding Company was awarded a grant of 88.52 billion rupees, while Pakistan Railways received 27.5 billion rupees, and the National Highway Authority (NHA) was allocated 4 billion rupees in grants.

Moreover, the federal government provided over 25 billion rupees in loans to the NHA and extended a loan of 35.54 billion rupees to Pakistan Steel Mills. Additional loans included 16.53 billion rupees to JINCO and 6.1 billion rupees to NTDC.

Furthermore, the Printing Corporation received 1.2 billion rupees, and Radio Pakistan was granted 210 million rupees in loans. MEPCO, PESCO, and CASECO also received financial assistance from the federal government.