Govt clarifies no state-backed loan or guarantee for PIA aircraft

Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad has clarified that the government is not buying aircraft for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) following its privatisation, according to Mettis Global. He also stated that no government guarantee or taxpayer-funded loan has been announced for this purpose. The clarification concerned the role of the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) in relation to the national carrier.

Schehzad said the bank's main goal is to boost U.S. exports and employment, and since Boeing jets count as American exports, the bank offers financing to foreign buyers such as airlines. Under its asset-based framework, the aircraft itself can serve as collateral, and a state guarantee is not compulsory. He stressed that the government statement referred only to possible EXIM Bank financing and did not announce any loan or guarantee for PIA.

According to the adviser, the Finance Minister's talks with the bank went beyond PIA and also covered aviation financing, refinery expansion and Reko Diq. The government is pursuing a gradual reduction of its role in commercial activity, which it says creates more room for private investment. He added that private-sector-led growth means facilitating businesses rather than running them, and that privatisation transfers ownership and management without closing doors to Pakistani companies.