Because it had shared draft releases, and when Pakistan’s finance ministry shared this important update on social media, it turned out to be a field day for trolls. As Pakistan’s economy continues to struggle, it reportedly raised a record $3 billion from a junk bond sale after securing credit rating upgrades.
Pakistan sold $1.75 billion of five-year debt at a yield of 7.75% and also sold $1.25 billion of 10-year notes at a yield of 8.25%, Bloomberg reported quoting anonymous official sources. The sale attracted orders of almost $6 billion, the finance ministry said in a statement Thursday. Pakistan came back to the market after tapping global investors in April for the first time in more than four years in a $500 million private placement. The South Asian nation, which secured an International Monetary fund bailout in 2022 to avert a default, has been taking steps to shore up its finances and rebuild its foreign-exchange reserves.
“This shows that Pakistan has regained investors’ confidence and reflects the strong reform progress made under the IMF program,“ said Eng Tat Low, emerging-market sovereign analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments in Singapore. “Raising this amount early in the fiscal year should also alleviate concerns around its ability to meet its elevated external funding” needs, estimated at about $22 billion, he was quoted as saying.
