Pakistan returns to the bond market
Pakistan raised $500 million through a three-year Eurobond on Friday 17 April 2026, its first issuance in the international capital market in four years, the Finance Ministry announced. Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on X that Pakistan had “successfully returned to the international capital markets after a four-year hiatus” with the issue under its Global Medium-Term Note (GMTN) Programme.
People familiar with the transaction said the bond was priced at a coupon of about 6.975 per cent and matures in April 2029. Business Recorder reported that the security would mature on 24 April 2029. Schehzad said the three-year bond drew strong investor demand despite global market and geopolitical uncertainty, adding that the issuance would bring fresh liquidity to Pakistan’s sovereign yield curve and establish a pricing benchmark for future transactions.
The Saudi backdrop and the April repayment
The sale came a day after Saudi Arabia expanded its support for Pakistan from $5 billion to $8 billion, with a first additional disbursement of $2 billion. It also followed Pakistan’s repayment of a $1.4 billion Eurobond that matured on 8 April — a payment officials said helped restore confidence in the country’s ability to meet external obligations on schedule. KhabarWire covered the related $3bn deposit extension separately on the same day.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, speaking in Washington during the World Bank–IMF Spring Meetings, called the issuance the “culmination of a four-year journey” and a vote of confidence in Pakistan’s economic direction. Officials said the proceeds would support external financing needs and help rebuild foreign exchange reserves.
What officials say comes next
Schehzad said Pakistan would soon invite proposals for financial advisers for its GMTN and International Sukuk programmes, while work on an inaugural Panda bond in China was progressing. He linked the timing to what he described as improving fundamentals, saying macroeconomic stability was taking hold and energy prices were correcting as the Strait of Hormuz reopened. The immediate test is whether the new issuance and the Saudi inflows are enough to keep reserves comfortable through the rest of the fiscal year.
