Pakistan hints at more panda bonds, samurai bond debut

Pakistan intends to widen its funding sources, and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has signalled a possible return to China's panda bond market, according to Mettis Global. In a Nikkei Asia interview on Monday, he also raised the prospect of a samurai bond in Japan. He said that step would need more study before any decision, while the government has no plan to expand total foreign borrowing.

The debut issue in mid-May raised 1.75bn yuan ($261mn) under a 7.2bn yuan programme, partly guaranteed by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Figures from S&P Global show issuance of roughly 160bn yuan ($23.8bn) across the first six months of 2026, a 68% rise on the year before, with foreign issuers' share of the market now at 50%, up from 39% last year.

Aurangzeb ruled out any softening of the five-year National Tariff Policy, launched last year, which covers all of industry, not only autos. A revised auto policy awaiting cabinet approval targets electric models for 30% of new vehicles by 2030, though critics say export rules favour Chinese makers. The minister said every Chinese carmaker is welcome, and BYD has already started local assembly. On the IMF, he said the current programme is helping engagement with credit raters and investors, while Pakistan owed the Fund roughly $10.5bn as of Monday.