Pakistan raises record $3bn through dual-tranche eurobond

Mettis Global reported that Pakistan raised $3bn through a dual-tranche Eurobond, a sum it called the biggest international bond sale in the nation's history. Orders reached close to $6bn, about twice the size of the issue, and came from a varied group of institutional buyers around the world. The deal was split into two maturities, with $1.75bn sold on a 5½-year note at a 7.50% coupon and $1.25bn on a 10-year note at 7.90%.

It is the first issue under the revamped Global Medium-Term Note (GMTN) Programme, arriving after the debut Panda Bond and a run of sovereign credit improvements. The sale also sits within a wider liability management plan that seeks to widen funding sources, lengthen maturities and cut refinancing and rollover risk. The Ministry of Finance's Debt Management Office directed the transaction, with Citi, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, MUFG and Standard Chartered as joint bookrunners.

The 10-year tranche drew particularly strong interest, and the scale and geographic reach of the order book, according to the report, signal growing trust among investors in Pakistan's outlook over the medium and long term. That trust builds on several sovereign rating upgrades and easier entry into overseas capital markets over the last three years.