Pakistan

An unnamed institutional investor has launched a block sale of shares in Pakistan-based Oil & Gas Development Co worth up to Prp5.9bn ($50.8m).

Pakistan is back in the offshore syndicated loan market for a $450m facility led by two banks.

Pakistan-based pharmaceutical company AGP is set to launch bookbuilding for a Prp2.8bn ($25.2m) offer-for-sale on the country’s stock exchange this week, according to a statement by financial services company JS Global Capital.

Pakistan’s securities regulator has overhauled its IPO rules to make the country’s bookbuilding process more market-friendly.

China’s central bank will hold on to its 'neutral and prudent' monetary policy, the central bank of Pakistan encourages businesses to trade with China in renminbi, and the Chinese currency regains its position as the sixth most used global payments currency.

The Chinese president emphasises the need to control financial risk at a key economic policy forum, Pakistan considers using the renminbi instead of the dollar in bilateral trade with China, and China Development Bank sells $350m of bonds in Hong Kong to help fund the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan raised $2.5bn from a sukuk and a conventional bond on Thursday, finding strong support from the buy-side.

The first set of commitments are in for Pakistan’s latest outing in the syndicated loan market — a $700m 10 year facility that is partially guaranteed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan opened its dollar-denominated sukuk and conventional bonds for bids on Wednesday, just days after the country’s government was forced to bring in the army to tackle protests in the capital.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has set the stage for a dollar-denominated sukuk and a dollar conventional bond, hiring banks for the transaction.

This article is the third part in a series of four on China’s Belt and Road Initiative that we are publishing during the 2017 IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Washington DC. We have devoted two articles to the Road element and two to the Belt element, of which this piece is the first and focuses on the Asian part of the overland route

Who does Pakistan turn to in the event of a new liquidity crisis: to China or the IMF? Widening trade and current account deficits and dwindling FX reserves could mean the South Asian country has to make up its mind sooner rather later