Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif opened the day’s trading in London and formally inaugurated Pakistan’s $3 billion Eurobond.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif became the first Pakistani prime minister to open a trading session at the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, September 29. During the same visit, he formally inaugurated Pakistan’s $3 billion dual-tranche sovereign Eurobond, which the country raised earlier this month.
The market opening ceremony took place at the exchange’s headquarters in Paternoster Square, where the event formally marks the start of the trading day in London. London Stock Exchange Group CEO David Schwimmer and senior officials of the group received the prime minister and his delegation on arrival.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Adviser on Privatization Muhammad Ali, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK, members of the Pakistani delegation and British officials also attended the ceremony.
Pakistan’s $3 Billion Eurobond Inaugurated at London Stock Exchange
In his address, Shehbaz said the government had worked hard in recent years to strengthen the economy. “As I speak, we have strengthened our macroeconomic indicators, which are very promising and augur very well for the future,” he said.
He also pointed to Pakistan’s potential to attract high-yield, safe and mutually beneficial foreign investment, and credited Aurangzeb and his team for arranging the Eurobond. The prime minister linked the deal to structural reforms, the digitization of the economy and other steps taken to put the national economy back on track.
The Eurobond marked Pakistan’s return to international capital markets. It was issued in two parts, a $1.75 billion bond with a term of five and a half years and a $1.25 billion bond with a 10-year term. The offering drew bids of close to $6 billion, nearly double the amount on offer, and was the first issuance under Pakistan’s renewed Global Medium-Term Note program.
The proceeds helped push the State Bank of Pakistan’s reserves to a record $21.4 billion earlier this month.
Turning to Schwimmer, Shehbaz said Pakistan would like his guidance on how to bring international financial markets further into the country, through attractive investment opportunities as well as sovereign debt. He called the day a moment of great happiness and a step toward rebuilding Pakistan’s connection with the exchange, and invited Schwimmer to visit Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif Meets Global Financial Firms in London
The prime minister also held separate meetings in London with senior executives from Barclays, JPMorgan, Citi, BlackRock and Rothschild & Co, inviting them to invest and expand their services in Pakistan. Aurangzeb and Muhammad Ali joined him in these meetings.
In his meeting with Muhammad Kamal Syed, Barclays’ head of private bank and wealth management in the UK, Shehbaz welcomed the bank’s interest in Pakistan and invited it to explore opportunities in the financial sector. With a Citi team led by Chief Client Officer David Livingstone, he praised the bank’s long-standing presence in the country and encouraged it to expand its corporate and institutional banking services.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Shehbaz invited BlackRock to increase its allocations to Pakistani equities and fixed income within the firm’s frontier markets strategy, with both sides stressing the importance of consistent policy in building investor confidence.
During the visit, the prime minister also highlighted the government’s privatization program, including the sale of Pakistan International Airlines, as part of its wider push for reform. He said Pakistan would continue working to strengthen its economy while seeking closer ties with global financial markets.
