Pakistan Eager to Enter Chinese Capital Market to Raise More Money: Finance Minister

Pakistan is eager to access Chinese capital market as part of its strategy to raise international finances, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said while speaking at the Pak-China Business Forum in Shenzhen, China, on Wednesday. He said preparations were already underway to structure the bond similar to Egypt’s guarantee-backed model. Locally, Aurangzeb noted the recent drop in the inflation rate in Pakistan and predicted the central bank’s benchmark interest rate to fall this year. Addressing temporary delays in payments and repatriation faced by Chinese partners and investors, Aurangzeb assured that these issues are not structural and vowed support for urgent resolution. Finance Minister further discussed key improvements including a 6.25 percent growth in agricultural GDP and a primary fiscal surplus. He acknowledged that remittances were stable while exports have increased in both traditional sectors and new areas like agriculture and IT. Pakistan’s current account deficit is projected to be less than a billion dollars this fiscal year, he added. Aurangzeb briefly commented on talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying that negotiations are still ongoing for a big loan program.