NEW YORK
\nPakistan is focused on securing US financing as it plots a return to global capital markets, the country\u2019s finance minister has said, in a major shift after years of relying on state loans from China.
\nMuhammad Aurangzeb told that the $10bn swap line that Pakistan sought from Washington last month was intended to serve as \u201ca confidence signal\u201d to private investors, as Islamabad\u2019s military-backed government looks to capitalise on close ties to the Trump administration and accelerate international borrowing.
\nHe added that he saw a \u201cvery important role\u201d for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (ExIm Bank) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which he said had shown \u201crisk appetite for Pakistan\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s a combination of engagement with the US primarily to focus on trade and investment flows, and to help signalling with respect to international capital markets,\u201d he said.
\nAurangzeb said Islamabad had received \u201cconstructive engagement\u201d from Washington over the $10bn swap line and hoped to receive an answer \u201cin the next couple of months\u201d. Cash-strapped Pakistan has reduced fiscal deficits, brought down inflation and rebuilt reserves under the auspices of a $7bn, three-year IMF programme approved in 2024.
\nBut GDP growth, estimated by the government at 3.7 per cent for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, remains insufficient to meet the needs of its fast-growing population and poverty levels have risen. Aurangzeb said the government wanted to stimulate exports to break the import-dependent country\u2019s perennial balance of payments crises.
\nPakistan\u2019s trade deficit widened to a four-year high of $39.5bn in the year to June, and exports fell. \u201cIf you look at our last episode where we put the foot on the pedal by pumping liquidity, going for consumption-led growth. A former executive at Citibank and JPMorgan who has also run Pakistan\u2019s Habib Bank, Aurangzeb is keen to shift Pakistan\u2019s economy \u201cfrom aid to trade and investment\u201d.
\nHe said ExIm Bank could finance sales of Boeing aircraft to the newly privatised Pakistan International Airlines and help US companies to upgrade Pakistan\u2019s oil refineries, while DFC could take equity stakes in Pakistani conglomerates.
\nPakistan\u2019s armed forces chief and de facto leader Field Marshal Asim Munir has also forged a close personal bond with US President Donald Trump and helped facilitate peace talks with Iran \u2014 a link that Washington believes it can leverage to tilt Islamabad away from Beijing\u2019s orbit.
\nChina is by far Pakistan\u2019s largest creditor, holding 23 per cent of its $129.7bn in total outstanding foreign debt as of 2024, according to World Bank figures published in December. Although Aurangzeb insisted that the choice between the US and China was \u201cnot an and-or discussion\u201d, he confirmed that Pakistan was not seeking additional financing from China at the moment.
\nAs part of the planned return to international borrowing, Pakistan last month appointed a consortium of banks with a three-year mandate to issue Eurobonds, another group to issue Islamic sukuk and a third to tap rupee-denominated, dollar-settled bonds. Standard Chartered and Citi are part of all three consortiums. Aurangzeb said Eurobond issuance would depend on the market pricing and maturity, but estimated Pakistan was \u201clooking at $1bn-$2bn\u201d this fiscal year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK Pakistan is focused on securing US financing as it plots a return to global capital markets, the country\u2019s finance minister has said, in a major shift after years of relying on state loans from China. Muhammad Aurangzeb told that the $10bn swap line that Pakistan sought from Washington last month was intended to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-564050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n