*LAHORE:* Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr. Miftah Ismail hasstated Pakistan is contemplating to issue a debt denominated in Renminbifor the first time.

In a statement to the *Financial Times, *Mr. Ismail said the plan ofissuing a Panda Bond was still in its initial stages and highlights thecountry’s increasing reliance on China for shoring its finances at a timewhen the forex reserves were declining.

The de-facto finance minister said the country had never issued a PandaBond before but was interested in doing so and were currently exploring therules and requirements.

Mr. Ismail told FT he was interested in floating the Panda Bond in the nextfinancial year but wasn’t sure whether the timing would be workable for itor not.

He added the government hadn’t decided the amount it was consideringraising. When asked about media reports claiming it could be around $1billion, Mr. Ismail said: “$1bn is a very nice, round number that anybodycan just float but I’ve really not even started thinking about it.”

Regarding the 10 percent depreciation of the rupee against the dollar sinceDecember, Mr. Ismail said the currency had fallen significantly in lastfour months and was enough to stem the rise in current account deficit fornow.

The adviser to PM on Finance said, “This will hopefully increase in doubledigits my exports and my foreign remittances and also stem the tide ofimports or slow down imports and I think that should be more than enoughfor now.”