KARACHI: Pakistan raised $3 billion on Thursday in its biggest two-part international bond sale on record, capping a run of three deals this year that has taken the country from a four-year absence in Eurobond markets to its largest-ever sovereign debt sale.
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Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan sign pact to lift trade to $200 million
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan agreed to raise bilateral trade more than tenfold to $200 million annually within two years, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pressed ahead with an effort to position his country as a gateway between South and Central Asia.
Pakistan’s second Eurobond of 2026 tests investors’ appetite for longer debt
Pakistan is asking bond investors for a longer commitment this time. The government began marketing a dual-tranche dollar bond with five- and 10-year maturities on Tuesday, its second international debt sale this year and a bet that improving credit ratings will persuade money managers to hold its debt further out on the curve than they did in April.
Fitch rates Pakistan’s planned dollar bonds B-, flags external liquidity risk
KARACHI: Fitch Ratings assigned a B- rating to Pakistan’s proposed US dollar-denominated bond on Tuesday, placing the sovereign debt sale firmly in speculative-grade territory as the country works to shore up its external finances.
Inflation seen near 11 percent in August as floods, credit slump threaten growth
ISLAMABAD: Inflation is projected to hold in a range of 10% to 11% in August, as global commodity and energy costs continue to pressure consumer prices even as the country contends with a slump in foreign investment and a deepening contraction in private-sector lending, the Finance Division said.
Hague court rejects India’s suspension of Indus water treaty, orders halt on Kashmir dam project
ISLAMABAD: An international arbitration court ruled on Monday that India cannot unilaterally suspend a six-decade-old treaty governing the sharing of water from the Indus River system, delivering a sharp rebuke to New Delhi and ordering it to curtail construction on a hydroelectric project in the disputed Kashmir region.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia set $3 billion target for agricultural trade
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to nearly double Pakistan’s agricultural and food exports to the kingdom, targeting $3 billion within two years as the countries deepen commercial ties beyond their traditional defence and security partnership.
Pakistan retires record Rs1.2 trillion in central bank debt ahead of schedule
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan repaid 1.2 trillion rupees of debt owed to its central bank ahead of schedule, the largest single early-repayment tranche the government has undertaken, an adviser to the finance minister said, as authorities press ahead with an effort to trim refinancing risk less than two months into the new fiscal year.
Fesco draws 10 bidders as Pakistan presses ahead with power privatisation
ISLAMABAD: The government cleared 10 companies to bid for control of Faisalabad Electric Supply Co. after the country’s only privately run utility withdrew from the contest and a Chinese firm was disqualified on a technicality, advancing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s push to sell off state power distributors.
Power regulator threatens to block industry tariff deal without consultation
ISLAMABAD: The power regulator said it won’t approve a special industrial tariff incentive package unless the government first consults with industry, adding a new obstacle to energy policy as consumers brace for a fresh round of fuel-cost increases tied to expensive liquefied natural gas imports.
