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ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has approved the enactment of the Export-Import Bank of Pakistan Act, 2020 paving the way for the bank to start operation in the country.
According to Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, the bank will start its operations soon after enactment. He said the objective of the EXIM Bank is supporting exporters with facilities such as export credit guarantees, financing for working capital and capital goods, project financing together with bid bonds, etc.
The EXIM Bank is another pillar being set up to support our exporters and hopefully, due to risk sharing by the Bank, it will enable us to move further with geographical diversification and various other goals enunciated in Strategic Trade Policy Framework.
The Ministry of Finance had proposed the enactment of EXIM Bank of Pakistan Act on the recommendations of senior government officials and international legal experts.
The EXIM Bank of Pakistan was set up by the government in June 2015 for the promotion, expansion and diversification of international trade through the provision of credit, guarantee and insurance products as well as ancillary services to exporters and importers in the form of a statutory corporation having the backing and support of the government.
The bank was declared a Development Finance Institution (DFI) and was incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under the Companies Ordinance 1984, on June 11, 2015.
As per reports, the authorized capital of the bank was Rs100 billion, while paid-up capital was Rs10 billion. Of the total paid-up capital, the government has so far released Rs7 billion.
In 2018, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had approved technical assistance (TA) grant of $500,000 to support the operationalisation of EXIM Bank, whereas International Financial Consulting Limited (IFCL) Canada would provide the deliverables.
