Pakistan repays $1bn international bond

April 13, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan has successfully executed the repayment of $1 billion Pakistan’s International Bond on April 12, 2024, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Saturday.

The payment, which included principal plus interest, was made to the agent bank for onward distribution to the bond holders, the central bank added.

Accordingly, the SBP-held reserves will fall to around $7bn, which currently stands at $8.04bn.

However, last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and the Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the final review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement, subject to the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board.

Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to SDR 828 million which is around $1.1bn.

Furthermore, the country is in discussions with the IMF on a potential follow-up program to its current stand-by arrangement, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said this week.

With the repayment of 2024 bond today, the next major maturity amounting to around $500m is in September 2025.

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