ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN / RankWire.AI / – Pakistan’s federal state-owned enterprises carried debt equal to about $36.5 billion at the end of December 2025. The total rose 14.3% from a year earlier, adding roughly $4.7 billion at current exchange rates. The Ministry of Finance published the figures in its latest six-month review of federal state-owned enterprises. Debt exposure crossed the $36 billion mark during the reporting period. All dollar equivalents here use the October 7, 2026 exchange rate.
Loss-making state enterprises recorded losses equal to about $10.1 million for each working day during the six-month period. Government support through subsidies, grants, loans and equity injections reached about $23.8 million per day. On the report’s annualized basis, those losses and support together amount to roughly $9 billion. The daily support figure was more than twice the daily loss estimate. The figures show how operating losses and direct fiscal support continued to overlap across the federal portfolio.
The debt structure included about $9.4 billion in foreign-currency liabilities and approximately $11.2 billion in bank borrowing. Cash development loans from the government stood near $7.6 billion. Unfunded pension liabilities were about $7.2 billion, while sovereign guarantees exceeded roughly $7.6 billion. The Central Monitoring Unit also reported a 40% annual increase in foreign loans. Cash development loans increased 25% over the same period, adding another layer to the government’s financial exposure.
Debt exposure spreads across borrowing channels
A separate central-bank measure produced a much lower total because it uses different coverage and classifications. The State Bank of Pakistan reported public-sector enterprise debt and liabilities of about $10.7 billion for December 2025. The finance ministry measure was therefore roughly $25.7 billion higher. The ministry’s review covers a broader set of obligations across the federal SOE portfolio. That difference in scope means the two headline totals are not directly interchangeable.
Pakistan’s combined circular debt reached about $11.9 billion during the same reporting period. Gross power-sector circular-debt flow reached about $1.35 billion in the first half of fiscal 2026. Distribution-company inefficiencies contributed roughly $405 million, while under-recoveries added about $112 million. Equity injections into state enterprises rose to about $813 million during the six months. Much of that funding reflected payments linked to clearing power-sector obligations.
Power sector keeps pressure on public finances
The review identified power distribution as a major source of losses within the state-enterprise portfolio. It linked those losses to technical shortfalls above regulatory benchmarks, weak recoveries and continued circular-debt accumulation. The report also recorded a roughly $517 million increase in circular-debt stock during the six-month period. Infrastructure and energy entities accounted for much of the loss profile. Profitable state companies remained concentrated in a narrower group of sectors, including oil and financial services.
The six-month review covers July through December 2025 and was released on October 5, 2026. It shows federal SOE debt above $36 billion, alongside nearly $12 billion in combined circular debt. Foreign-currency liabilities, bank loans, government lending, guarantees and pension obligations remain major components of the balance sheet. The review also shows that debt growth continued despite large fiscal transfers during the period. Its figures provide the latest consolidated measure of Pakistan’s state-enterprise debt burden and related government support.
