Pakistan plans to raise approximately $1bn through Eurobonds

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has planned to raise approximately $1 billion through Eurobonds within the next two months.

Ministry of Finance Special Secretary, Kamran Afzal in this regard, said that this will be the first capital market transaction by the current government.

These sovereign bonds aim to raise foreign exchange before the repayment of previous debts. Pakistan needs to repay approximately $4 billion to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with loans from other global lenders.

Kamran Afzal further informed that 10 leading banks have submitted their financial and technical bids to structure the bond issue. The actual size of the issue will be determined after taking into account the external financing needs along with the interest rates offered by the investors.

Banks from Europe, America, Gulf, China, and a local bank have submitted technical and financial bids for the contract of financial advisers to float the sovereign bond.

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These include Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan, Citibank, Credit Suisse Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Meezan Bank, Bank of China, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Emirates NBD.

The upcoming transaction will prove to be a test case of the country’s claim of international recognition of its improved economic conditions.