As the government seeks to diversify its funding sources, Pakistan plans to return to China’s domestic bond market for further yuan-denominated borrowing and is exploring the possibility of issuing yen-denominated bonds in Japan, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in an interview to Nikkie Asia.
Pakistan issued its first panda bond worth 1.75 billion yuan ($261 million) in mid-May under a 7.2-billion-yuan programme, with partial guarantees from the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Panda bonds are yuan-denominated bonds issued by foreign governments or institutions in China.
The recent panda bond will not be a “one-time issuance”, Aurangzeb told Nikkie Asia.
Pakistan intends to “keep going back and be a repeat issuer,” given how China is the “second largest and deepest capital market in the world,” he said.
Following a period of severe economic turmoil exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan has recovered some of its footing, supported by a $7 billion, 37-month IMF loan program known as the Extended Fund Facility signed in....
