Pakistan raises 3 billion dollars in a two-tranche bond sale as orders near 6 billion dollars
Pakistan sold 3 billion dollars of Eurobonds on 3 September in two tranches: 1.75 billion dollars at 5.5 years with a 7.5 per cent coupon and 1.25 billion dollars at 10 years at 7.9 per cent. The finance ministry said the books reached nearly 6 billion dollars, almost twice the amount issued, and presented the deal as Pakistan's largest international bond transaction in a single sale. It is the first issue under the renewed Global Medium-Term Note programme.
Economics & Markets··Midday
3 billion dollars in two tranches, orders near 6 billion dollars
Pakistan raised 3 billion dollars through a dual-tranche Eurobond sale on 3 September 2026, the finance ministry announced on Thursday. The offering comprised 1.75 billion dollars at a 5.5-year maturity carrying a 7.5 per cent coupon and 1.25 billion dollars at a 10-year maturity carrying a 7.9 per cent coupon. The ministry said the books attracted nearly 6 billion dollars of orders, almost twice the amount issued, from a broad and diversified base of institutional investors across global markets and continents. It described the sale as the largest international bond issuance by Pakistan in a single transaction. The ministry said demand held across both maturities and was particularly strong at the 10-year tenor, and it treated the depth of the order book and the geographic spread of that investor base as a market-based signal about the country's medium- and long-term path.[1], [2], [3]
The first issue under a renewed note programme
The ministry presented the sale as the first issuance under Pakistan's renewed Global Medium-Term Note programme, which follows the country's inaugural Panda Bond and successive improvements in its sovereign credit profile. Citi, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, MUFG and Standard Chartered acted as joint bookrunners, and the ministry credited its own Debt Management Office with delivering the transaction. Its stated objective is not simply to raise additional debt but to run active sovereign liability management: diversifying financing sources, extending maturities, reducing refinancing and rollover risks, and replacing shorter-term and more expensive obligations with longer-duration, competitively priced financing where that is economically beneficial. The ministry said the government had already retired a substantial share of domestic debt ahead of maturity and was extending the same approach to external financing. It also acknowledged that the reform process is not complete, listing fiscal discipline, structural reforms, export competitiveness, investment and productivity as areas needing continued attention.[2], [3], [1]
April's issue and the earlier most expensive Eurobond
Pakistan's new coupons sit above the country's most recent international pricing. In April 2026 the government sold a three-year Eurobond priced at 6.975 per cent and raised 750 million dollars; that sale opened at 500 million dollars and was enlarged by a 250 million dollar green-shoe option after demand ran ahead of expectation, and the bond matures in April 2029. Pakistan also repaid a 1.4 billion dollar Eurobond that matured in April, and the ministry said that repayment helped re-establish a pricing benchmark in international debt markets. Before this week's sale the country's most expensive Eurobond carried a rate of 8.25 per cent and dated back more than a decade. The ministry set the reception of the new issue alongside three years of economic improvement recognised in successive sovereign credit-rating upgrades, and said global investors have now reinforced that assessment with capital.[1], [3]
