Pakistan appoints global banking consortium for Eurobond and Sukuk programme

Pakistan has appointed a consortium of leading international banks to support the government's Global Medium-Term Note (GMTN) and International Sukuk programmes, a move aimed at strengthening the country's presence in international capital markets and diversifying its sources of financing.

The announcement followed a virtual meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb from Washington with the heads of major international financial institutions to discuss Pakistan's new global financing programme.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Standard Chartered, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD and MUFG have been selected to participate in the consortium for Pakistan's Eurobond programme.

For the International Sukuk programme, Dubai Islamic Bank and Mashreq Bank are among the five global financial institutions selected to support future sovereign Sukuk issuances.

The ministry said Standard Chartered, Citibank and Deutsche Bank had also been selected to support the issuance of Pakistani rupee-denominated, US dollar-settled bonds.

The selected consortium will assist Pakistan in issuing Eurobonds, Sukuk and other sovereign international bonds over the next three years.

The ministry noted that MUFG Securities Asia and Mashreq Bank had joined Pakistan's sovereign financing consortium for the first time, broadening the country's engagement with international financial institutions.

According to the Finance Ministry, the selection reflects growing international confidence in Pakistan's economic outlook following improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, fiscal discipline and the implementation of structural reforms.

Officials said the government's objective was to establish a diversified and lower-cost external financing framework while strengthening Pakistan's long-term presence in global capital markets.

The ministry said sovereign bonds and Sukuk would be issued only after completion of all legal and regulatory requirements and would depend on financing needs and prevailing market conditions.

It added that Pakistan's sovereign bond risk premium had declined significantly in recent months, indicating stronger investor confidence and an improved credit profile in international financial markets.

The ministry said broader participation by global investors would support Pakistan's long-term fiscal strategy and improve access to sustainable international financing.