Pakistan will issue its first-ever Panda bond in the coming weeks, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said. The bond will be issued in Chinese renminbi instead of dollars or euros. Officials say the move could lower borrowing costs and diversify funding sources.
Aurangzeb said issuing debt in RMB and swapping it into dollars offers a 2.5 percent cost advantage. He stressed that even small savings matter for Pakistan’s economy. The minister spoke at a seminar on resetting Pakistan’s economic direction.
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He said Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen to 70 percent from 75 percent. The government has also extended average debt maturity beyond four years. As a result, debt servicing savings reached about Rs850 billion last year.
The minister said 24 state-owned enterprises were handed to the Privatisation Commission. He added these entities were causing annual losses near Rs1 trillion. Therefore, the government shut down heavily subsidized and corruption-prone bodies.
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Aurangzeb acknowledged that some firms exited Pakistan due to high costs. However, he said 20 new foreign investors entered in 18 months. He added that digital finance, capital markets, and population control remain key priorities.