Pakistan aims to launch two banks- Exim Bank and Pakistan Infrastructure Bank – and a fund – Pakistan Development Fund to help Pakistan support trade and development projects.
Pakistan Infrastructure Bank (PIB) would be established with a paid up capital of one billion dollars. The 40% shares of bank will be held by IMF and Government of Pakistan with both having an equal share of 20%. The rest will be contributed by international organizations such as IFC. The bank would help in financing private investors for development projects.
Government is also set to launch Pakistan Development Fund in collaboration with the Manila based Asian Development Bank. The shares worth Rs 110 Billion of PDF would be offered to Pakistani expatriates living around the world in order to channelize their remittances effectively. The capital generated from which will be utilized in the financing of development projects. Moreover, PDF will be enlisted on Pakistan Stock Exchange. The ADB recently upgraded Pakistan’s growth estimate to 5.2 percent for FY17.
On a more positive note, credit rating agencies have recently shifted Pakistan from from “negative” to “stable” and only recently to “positive”. The third institution, Exim Bank is all set to start operations from December this year with 7Billion cash.
The decision to setup these financial institutions by Finance Minister has been lauded as a step in right direction to help Pakistan meet her funding requirements. The three institutions will help Pakistan in funding development projects, provide loans at a reasonable cost and will also assist Pakistan in channeling foreign remittances in an efficient manner.
