Pakistan is preparing to issue its first-ever tranche of Panda bonds before December this year, Bloomberg News reported.
As per the report, Pakistan aims to raise $250 million through the yuan-denominated debt. The bonds will be privately placed on China’s national interbank market and offered to qualified institutional investors.
“Indicative coupon of the bond is in the range of 3%-4% per annum with a three-year tenor,” the report said. “The transaction is being structured with a consortium of financial advisers and underwriters like China International Capital Corporation Ltd. and Habib Bank Ltd.”
In July, Representatives of the Ministry of Finance initiated a series of pre-marketing investor meetings in Beijing, China, as part of a non-deal investor roadshow (NDR) in preparation for Pakistan’s debut Panda bond issuance. The inaugural Panda bond is expected to be launched this year, following the completion of documentation and required approvals, including credit guarantees from multilateral development partners.
“Pakistan has previously issued many bonds in US dollars and euros, but we have not tapped into the Chinese capital market. We are very hopeful that during this calendar year, we will do that,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had said. The Finance minister had also said that the size of the Panda bond issuance would be around $300 million.