Islamabad, June 21: Pakistan is considering issuing its first foreign currency bond since its first and only foray into the international capital market in 1997, finance minister Shaukat Aziz told London's Financial Times newspaper. The bond would be worth up to 500 million dollars, Aziz said in an interview published today.
With Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves brimming healthily at a record 10.5 billion dollars, the bond is not aimed at attracting dollars.
"We don't need the cash flow, but we are keen to keep investor interest in Pakistan alive," Aziz, a former Citibank executive, was quoted as saying.
He told the newspaper a new debt office within his ministry was gauging the appetite among international banks and investors for such a bond.
Pakistan's first foreign currency bond, a 300 million dollar eurobond, was launched in 1997 when it was in dire need of foreign exchange supplies. Bureau Report