Panda | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan raised $250 million equivalent through its inaugural Panda bond issuance in the Chinese capital market at an interest rate of 2.5 per cent, with a three-year maturity, according to Advisor to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad. In a social media post on X on Thursday, Schehzad said: “Pakistan has successfully completed its inaugural Panda bond issuance in China’s onshore capital market today, marking the country’s first-ever entry into the world’s second-largest and deepest capital market.” The inaugural Panda bond is a three-year fixed-rate instrument, making it Pakistan’s first-ever renminbi (RMB)-denominated sovereign issuance in China’s onshore capital market, he announced. “The landmark Panda bond issuance of RMB 1.75 billion (equivalent to $250 million) attracted overwhelming investor demand of over RMB 8.8bn (approximately $1.26bn), resulting in oversubscription of more than five times,” Schehzad wrote. Importantly, he said that the demand for the inaugural tranche alone exceeded...