PM Shehbaz inaugurates $3bn Eurobond in London

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif became the first prime minister from Pakistan to open the London Stock Exchange (LSE) trading session, besides formally inaugurating Pakistan’s landmark $3 billion dual-tranche sovereign Eurobond.

During his address at the LSE headquarters in Paternoster Square, the prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s potential to attract high-yield, safe and mutually beneficial foreign investments.

“As I speak, we have strengthened our macroeconomic indicators, which are very promising and augur very well for the future,” he said.

The ceremony was attended by CEO of London Stock Exchange Group David Schwimmer, Finance Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Aurangzeb, Advisor on Privatisation Mohammad Ali, Pakistan High Commissioner Tipu Usman, members of the Pakistani delegation and relevant British authorities.

• A Eurobond is an international debt security issued outside the country of the currency it is denominated in. Despite its name, it has no direct connection to Europe or the Euro currency.

The prime minister, in his remarks, further said that the latest contribution of their finance minister and his team to arrange $3 billion worth of dual-tranche sovereign Eurobonds spoke volumes about their hard work, deep-rooted structural changes, the digitisation of the economy, and taking all the necessary measures to put their national economy back on track.

Earlier this month, Pakistan raised $3 billion through a dual-tranche Eurobond sale that drew nearly $6 billion in orders.

The premier mentioned the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines and First Women Bank, saying the government was moving towards offloading many other state enterprises, stressing that those must be run by the private sector.

The prime minister opined that if the Gulf crisis hadn’t erupted, the country would have taken off.

“Like other emerging economies, we are negotiating this challenge while also playing an important role as a peacemaker, mediating between the United States and Iran. I hope that we will continue in this direction,” he added.

Referring to the Gulf crisis, he emphasised the importance of learning new lessons as the investors were now trying to evaluate and assess safer markets.

Addressing the CEO of London Stock Exchange, the prime minister said that they definitely like to seek his guidance and advice on how to further engage international financial markets to play a role in Pakistan, not just in terms of sovereign debt but through very attractive investments.

He also invited David Schwimmer to visit Pakistan.