ISLAMABAD – According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan has paid off$1 billion out of $2 billion collected by the former government in 2014 byissuing five-year and 10-year Eurobonds.
The bonds were issued in April 2014 and were criticized by economists owingto the high rates offered against them. The coupon rate offered on thefive-year bonds was 7.25 percent; while on the 10-year bonds, it was 8.25percent.
At that time, the rate was too high given the lack of risks faced by thecountry’s economy. Nevertheless, the SBP spokesperson said that the outflowof $1 billion will be reflected in the next weekly report of the country’sforeign exchange reserves.——————————
Notably, last week’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to $17.228 billionincluding $10.272 billion of State Bank and $6.956 billion of commercialbanks.
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In order to prevent a balance of payment crisis, the government hasobtained funds from bilateral sources in the last eight months. Theborrowed funds include 15 billion Yuan ($2.2 billion) from China last month.
