Pakistan is about to launch its first-ever Panda bond, with officials targeting a $250 million inaugural issuance in January 2026 as part of a broader $1 billion programme in China’s onshore capital market.
Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday chaired a meeting at the Finance Division to review progress on the transaction, including approvals, investor engagement and regulatory clearances, according to an official press release.
Officials from the Debt Management Office and senior Finance Division officers briefed the minister that approvals from multilateral partners have been secured and that outreach to Chinese institutional investors has yielded “constructive” results.
Investor sentiment has been described as strong, with broad-based interest and positive early feedback from a diversified investor base.
The statement said this appetite reflects growing confidence in Pakistan’s macroeconomic stabilisation, an improved policy and reform framework, and a more positive medium‑term outlook.
Participants at the meeting also noted that prevailing market conditions remain supportive, with orderly market functioning and robust investor interest.
All key documentation and guarantees are in place, and engagement with potential buyers is proceeding as planned, officials told the minister. Final regulatory approvals from the relevant Chinese authorities are expected “soon”, following which the inaugural issuance is planned for January.
Aurangzeb stressed that Pakistan’s entry into the Chinese onshore bond market is being pursued as part of a “structured and programmatic” financing strategy in line with prudent debt‑management objectives.
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The overall Panda Bond programme is envisaged at around $1 billion, with the first tranche sized at the equivalent of $250 million.
Preparatory work for follow‑on transactions under a planned “Panda Series II” is already underway, and Chinese regulators have been fully briefed on the multi‑tranche structure, the statement added.
Concluding the meeting, the finance minister expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved and reiterated the government’s commitment to prudent, market‑based borrowing.
He said the inaugural Panda bond would help support Pakistan’s medium‑term debt sustainability while broadening and diversifying its pool of external funding sources.
