ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to repay $1 billion in the next financial year 2018-19 due to the maturity of five-year Eurobond in mid-April 2019 which was obtained in April 2014.

According to projections of the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan would be required to payback $5 billion because of amortization of outstanding foreign in loans in next FY 2018-19, reported The News.

The country’s total gross financing needs on external front is estimated at $19 billion for next financial year contingent if Islamabad takes appropriate measures by raising interest rates and make a few revisions in the exchange rate to expand exports and reduce imports.

The estimated current account deficit for the next financial year 2017-18 would be close to $14 billion.

Last month, the current account deficit in the first nine months of 2017-18 amounted to $12 billion, up 50.5 percent from a year ago.

According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the gap was $1.16 billion in March. This was down by 9.2 percent from the preceding month, data revealed.

The current account of a country tracks its overseas transactions such as net trade, earnings on cross-border investments, and transfer payments.

Exports of goods amounted to $18.2 billion in July-March, up almost 12 percent from a year ago. But the corresponding rise in imports, which were worth $40.5 billion, remained 16.6 percent over the same period.