Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday that a B rating upgrade from agencies would help Pakistan tap into international markets. He said it would be pointless to access these markets with the current CCC rating.
He rejected the notion that Pakistan was seeking expensive external commercial loans and emphasized that any loans taken in the future would only be necessary and on terms favorable to the country. The government would maintain transparency regarding future borrowing decisions, he added.
Aurangzeb also hinted at approaching the international capital market soon, with plans to issue Panda Bonds by the end of this fiscal year or early in the next.
The minister revealed that discussions with international commercial banks had been ongoing since April, but no decisions had been made to secure commercial loans at this stage.
On other matters, the Finance Minister dismissed any proposal to raise the retirement age of government employees to 55, stating that this issue is not under consideration. Regarding Pakistan’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he explained that the new IMF program includes additional conditions and is part of a long-term strategy.
He also confirmed that discussions on climate financing with the IMF are ongoing, and projects will be identified for this purpose. He added that an IMF mission would visit Pakistan in March next year and climate financing will be a key agenda then.
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