"BORROWING" · 총 62건
필터 보기현재 지수
49.5
0 = 부정 우세
50 = 중립
100 = 긍정 우세
최근 7일 기준 89,058건을 분석한 결과, 뉴스 심리지수는 49.5(균형)입니다. 긍정 10,881건(12.2%)·중립 64,380건(72.3%)·부정 13,797건(15.5%)이며, 중립 비중이 뚜렷하게 높습니다. 성향 지수는 종합 20.6(보수 경향)입니다.
In the race to dominate the artificial intelligence industry, companies like SpaceX and Alphabet are borrowing cash and raising equity from investors at the fastest pace in decades.
Proposed Sh4.8 trillion FY2026-27 budget against Sh3.6 trillion revenue could leave a Sh1.1 trillion borrowing gap, Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka says debt servicing and pensions consume Sh1.5Tn.
The senior unsecured delayed draw term loan facility, arranged through Citibank, matures three years after the funds are drawn
New Delhi: Private sector investment is showing signs of revival, with companies increasingly borrowing for expansion and infrastructure projects, Punjab National Bank (PNB) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ashok Chandra said, stressing that the private sector has started "reposing faith" in the economy.In an exclusive interview with ANI, Chandra said the PNB has witnessed a sharp rise in corporate loan sanctions over the past year, indicating growing investment activity across multiple sectors."It has started happening. In fact, from the second half of last financial year, October onwards, we have started seeing good reaction happening in the system," Chandra said while responding to a question on whether private capital expenditure is picking up.Also read: India banks could raise $35-$40 billion via RBI's foreign currency deposit scheme, PNB CEO Ashok Chandra saysAccording to him, PNB sanctioned nearly Rs 4 lakh crore worth of corporate loans during FY26, almost double the level seen in the previous financial year."I will tell you the figure which was in 24-25, the total corporate loan book sanction was 2,1,000,000 crore. And it almost doubled in 25-26," he said.The PNB chief said the momentum has continued into the current financial year, and the PNB expects corporate loan sanctions to exceed Rs 4 lakh crore."And the pace at which in these two months of this financial year, the things have started growing, I am very confident that it will be more than 4,00,000,000 crore of corporate loan book," he said.Chandra said the increase in corporate borrowing suggests that private companies are once again stepping up investments after a period when much of the capital expenditure was led by the government.Also read: Indian banks better placed than APAC peers: Fitch on West Asia woes"So if that is the speed at which it is happening, I think definitely the private sector has also started reposing faith in the system. And I think private capex has started happening," he said.He also pointed to broader economic indicators, including GDP growth and industrial activity, as evidence of increasing investment and business confidence."If you see the growth data, the GDP data which has been declared, the industrial output almost all time high now, manufacturing sector in the industry is also a very good growth now. So all those things definitely indicate that the country is growing and a lot of activities are happening in the country now," Chandra said.The PNB chief noted that investment demand is emerging across a wide range of sectors.Renewable energy has been identified as one of the PNB's key focus areas, with substantial lending being directed towards the sector. Besides renewable energy, the bank has increased exposure to iron and steel, textiles, cement and other manufacturing industries.Infrastructure-related sectors are also witnessing strong activity, according to Chandra."The road, a lot of projects are coming, the port, airport, infra together as a whole. So, machineries, trading also. So, almost all sectors we have taken good exposure, and we are seeing the vibration happening in the economy in almost all the sectors," he said.Apart from corporate lending, Chandra said growth in other segments remains robust. MSME lending, which expanded by 20 per cent last year, is now growing at more than 20 per cent. Retail loans are growing at 18-19 per cent, while agriculture credit is expanding at 15-16 per cent.He added that despite global geopolitical uncertainties, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) has not witnessed any adverse impact on its loan book so far and continues to see healthy demand across business segments.
DELAYS in budget announcements are normal. After all, it is not easy to satisfy different lobbies competing for a bigger share of the shrinking fiscal pie. But the current impasse is of a different order. It signifies a constitutional and political crisis that the government is struggling to contain. The immediate cause is clear, even if the government is reluctant to state it openly. Islamabad wants the provinces to freeze their share from the federal tax divisible pool under the NFC award, returning any receipts above the current year’s level to the centre. This demand comes over and above the Rs1.95tr cash surplus that provinces are required to produce under the National Fiscal Pact. The provinces are resisting the pressure. The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues. That Pakistan is operating under the IMF programme’s strict conditions, requiring it to maintain a primary surplus and contain expenditures, is another reason. Meeting those targets while not touching defence spending and civil service perks intact leaves only one lever: squeeze the provinces. The federal government’s broader narrative that the existing NFC award is the primary driver of its fiscal distress does not hold water. It excludes the petroleum levy and every other surcharge collected outside the divisible pool. GST on petroleum products was replaced by a levy precisely so that it would not have to be shared with the provinces. By expanding non-shareable levies over the years, the centre has grown its own fiscal base while publicly lamenting its reduced NFC share. The provinces’ requirement to produce cash surpluses to help Islamabad meet key IMF targets is limiting provincial development spending. Pakistan’s debt crisis was not triggered by higher provincial transfers, but by chronic under-taxation, reckless devaluation and serial borrowing — which have nothing to do with how the divisible pool is distributed. However, the revenue failure is not the centre’s fault alone. Large parts of the economy — agriculture, retail, real estate, professionals like lawyers and doctors, etc — effectively remain outside the tax system, contributing only a negligible fraction of their potential to tax revenues. This is a structural issue that no NFC revision can resolve. What is at stake, however, goes beyond provincial shares. The seventh NFC award and 18th Amendment are not merely about financial arrangement or devolution. They represent a constitutional guarantee of autonomous federating units and a stronger federation. The undoing of this consensus will have an impact that will outlast this government and the IMF programme. The government can either address the structural issues holding back economic growth or continue to squeeze compliant taxpayers and claw back resources from the provinces. Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2026
Bank stocks gained as much as 5% on Tuesday after the raft of measures introduced by RBI to help hedge foreign currency borrowings stoked investor optimism and led to traders covering some of their bearish bets.Bank Nifty rose 2.1% to 55,194.50; and closed above 55,000 levels after two weeks while benchmark Nifty moved 0.5% higher on Tuesday. All 14 constituents of Bank Nifty moved higher on Tuesday. .Bank of Baroda jumped 5.5% while Canara Bank climbed 4.5%. Punjab National Bank and Federal Bank advanced around 3.5%."The measures by RBI are likely to drive a healthy deposit base for banks and lead to cheaper cost of funds since the hedging cost on FCNRB is borne by the Central Bank while the hedging costs on ECB's is subsidised," said Dharmesh Kant, head of research, Cholamandalam Securities.131622603Last week, the RBI announced measures to boost foreign currency inflows and to support the rupee. The Central Bank offered concessional dollar-rupee swap facility to absorb the entire forex hedging costs for three-to-five-year Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR[B]) deposits until October 16, 2026. In addition, it offered a concessional swap facility for eligible External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) raised by public sector entities, fixing the hedging cost at 1.5% per annum.This policy allows Indian banks to access low-cost global capital and alleviate domestic deposit crunches without bearing currency risk, said analysts. "The sudden fundamental clarity triggered massive technical short covering, catching derivative traders by surprise and sparking a rapid short squeeze since the Put-Call Ratio (PCR) had dropped into an oversold zone below 0.80 ahead of the news," said Nishchal Jain, Quant Researcher, Share. Market by Phone Pe.The high-volume breakout past 55,100 and decisive price action, shifts the market regime from "sell on rallies" to "buy on dips", establishing 55,000 as a strong psychological support base- forming a high-conviction bullish view, he said.
The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has warned that two long terms savings funds, established by the Government to retain some of the corporation tax paid by multinationals, will have to be part-funded by borrowing.
In a counter-statement, Olusegun argued that the increase in Nigeria's debt stock under the Tinubu administration was largely driven by exchange rate adjustments rather than fresh borrowing. The post Tinubu’s aide accuses Peter Obi of misinforming Nigerians on debt profile appeared first on Vanguard News.
"President Bola Tinubu's administration has engaged in remarkably imprudent borrowing, escalating Nigeria's total debt to approximately N200 trillion." The post ‘Explain whereabouts of undeployed funds,’ Obi tells Tinubu appeared first on Vanguard News.
As the rupee came under pressure from rising crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and sustained foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows, the government and the Reserve Bank of India rolled out a set of measures over Friday and Monday aimed at attracting foreign capital and strengthening India's external position.The RBI, while keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% in its June monetary policy review, unveiled a package to boost dollar inflows. Simultaneously, the government followed up with a tax ordinance exempting foreign investors from taxes on investments in government securities. Together, the measures are designed to improve India's balance of payments, ease pressure on the rupee and make Indian debt markets more attractive to overseas investors.Also Read: India scrapping tax for foreign investors in govt bonds aimed at inclusion in Bloomberg index, govt official saysSo, why were policymakers worried?The West Asia conflict and its impact globally is no secret. The ripple effects are real. The rupee had come under pressure in recent weeks trading in the range of ₹95.20 to ₹95.80 against the US Dollar as crude oil prices surged following the escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, raising concerns over India's import bill and current account deficit. However, a surprise sprang on Monday when India reported a current account surplus of $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter of FY26. The RBI's package1. Concessional forex swap facility for overseas borrowingsThe RBI introduced a special dollar-rupee swap facility at a concessional rate for public sector entities and banks raising funds overseas. The facility will remain available until September 30.Companies often borrow abroad but must hedge currency risk. Hedging can be expensive. By lowering that cost, the RBI is encouraging more overseas borrowing and, consequently, more dollar inflows into India.2. RBI to bear hedging costs on FCNR(B) depositsOn Monday, the RBI issued detailed guidelines for the FCNR(B) deposit scheme announced during the monetary policy.Also Read: Deposits under RBI's latest foreign currency non-resident bank scheme will carry one-year lock-inUnder the framework, banks can mobilise fresh FCNR(B) deposits with maturities of three to five years between June 8 and September 30 and swap the dollar inflows with the RBI. The swap window will remain available until October 16. The central bank will bear the entire hedging cost, effectively allowing banks to hedge these deposits at par. Banks can also offer leverage against such deposits.The RBI also exempted these deposits from Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) requirements, improving the economics of mobilising foreign currency deposits.To ensure stability of inflows, deposits raised under the scheme will carry a mandatory one-year lock-in period. Banks will not be allowed to cancel swaps undertaken with the RBI before maturity. The RBI further exempted swap positions arising from FCNR(B) deposits from net unhedged foreign exchange exposure calculations.This is the closest India has come since the 2013 FCNR(B) mobilisation scheme launched during the rupee crisis. By eliminating hedging costs, providing CRR and SLR relief, relaxing regulatory treatment and offering a dedicated swap window, the RBI is giving banks a strong incentive to attract dollar deposits from overseas Indians. Why analysts think this scheme could be bigger than 2013Brokerage Jefferies believes the latest package could attract $50-70 billion of foreign currency inflows, substantially higher than the inflows generated under the 2013 FCNR(B) scheme.The brokerage argues that the current framework is more attractive than the one introduced during the rupee crisis more than a decade ago. While banks had to bear hedging costs of around 3.5% under the 2013 scheme, the RBI is now absorbing the entire cost. The deposits are also exempt from CRR and SLR requirements, similar to the earlier programme.A key difference this time is the ability to use leverage. Jefferies noted that the RBI has permitted banks to provide standby letters of credit (SBLCs), potentially allowing depositors to amplify returns through leverage. According to the brokerage, this could significantly improve the attractiveness of FCNR(B) deposits for overseas investors.3. Expansion of the Fully Accessible Route (FAR)The RBI expanded the FAR framework to include all new 15-year, 30-year and 40-year government securities and removed concentration limits for foreign investors.Large global investors, including pension and sovereign funds, prefer long-dated bonds. The move widens the universe of Indian government securities available for unrestricted foreign investment.4. Easier access for non-resident investorsThe RBI broadened investment access for individuals residing outside India and eased certain norms governing non-resident participation in Indian markets.The measure aims to tap a larger pool of overseas capital, particularly from the Indian diaspora.The Government's follow-up Tax reliefAfter the RBI's measures, the government issued the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.5. Capital gains tax exemption on government bondsThe ordinance exempted foreign institutional investors and the Bank for International Settlements from capital gains tax on investments in specified government securities. Earlier, long-term gains attracted a 12.5% tax.1316102436. Interest income tax exemptionThe government also removed taxes on interest income earned by eligible foreign investors from these government securities. Previously, interest income faced a 20% withholding tax.131610254
Several economists believe the Bank of Canada is more likely to raise borrowing rates in the coming months than provide a cut.
India recorded a current account surplus of $7.1 billion, or 0.7% of GDP, in the January-March quarter of FY26, supported by strong growth in services exports and remittance inflows, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Monday.The surplus was lower than the $13.7 billion, or 1.4% of GDP, recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.The country's merchandise trade deficit widened to $83.4 billion during the quarter, compared with $59.3 billion a year earlier, reflecting higher import outgo. However, this was partly offset by a rise in net services receipts to $60.4 billion from $53.3 billion in the year-ago period, driven by growth in computer services and other business services exports.Also read: FPI exodus from financials cools, but foreign investors remain net sellersAs per the central bank data, remittance inflows remained a key pillar of external stability, with personal transfer receipts, largely including money sent home by Indians working overseas, rising to $43.5 billion in the March quarter from $33.9 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, net outgo under the primary income account declined to $11.1 billion from $11.9 billion, providing additional support to the current account balance.Capital flows in Q4 FY26According to RBI data, net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows stood at $4.2 billion during the quarter, higher than $0.4 billion in the year-ago period.Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) recorded a net outflow of $12 billion in the March quarter, compared with a net outflow of $5.9 billion a year earlier.Non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits registered net inflows of $3.3 billion, up from $2.8 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY25. Net inflows through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) amounted to $3.6 billion, compared with $7.5 billion a year ago.Foreign exchange reserves increased by $7.2 billion on a balance of payments basis during the quarter, compared with an accretion of $8.8 billion in the year-ago period.FY26 balance of paymentsFor the financial year 2025-26, India’s current account deficit stood at $25.2 billion, equivalent to 0.6% of GDP, compared with a deficit of $22.9 billion, or 0.6% of GDP, in FY25.The merchandise trade deficit widened to $337.3 billion in FY26 from $286.9 billion a year earlier. Net services receipts rose to $216.6 billion from $188.8 billion, while secondary income receipts increased to $143.6 billion from $123.5 billion.Net invisibles receipts stood at $312 billion in FY26, higher than $264 billion in the previous year, primarily on account of net services receipts and net personal transfers.Capital flows in FY26Net FDI inflows increased to $6.9 billion in FY26 from $1 billion in FY25. FPIs recorded net outflows of $16.4 billion during FY26, compared with net inflows of $3.6 billion in the previous year.Foreign exchange reserves declined by $23.6 billion on a balance of payments basis in FY26, compared with a depletion of $5 billion in FY25.
As Nigeria grapples with rising inflation, mounting debt, worsening living conditions and persistent power shortages, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, has raised serious concerns The post Borrowing without visible projects worrisome — Oyerinde, NECA DG appeared first on Vanguard News.
Pakistan’s external trade balance continues to widen beyond normal cyclical swings, pointing instead to deeper structural constraints that have accumulated over decades. Despite periodic policy interventions and short-term stabilisation efforts, the underlying pattern remains unchanged: import growth consistently outpaces export earnings, leaving the economy dependent on external inflows to bridge a persistent gap. During the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, the trade deficit widened by 17.48 per cent year-on-year to $34.76 billion from $29.58bn in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Export earnings declined by 5.61pc to $27.91bn, while imports rose 5.94pc to $62.66bn. Earlier, in the entire last fiscal year, the trade deficit widened by 9pc to $26.3bn from $24.1bn a year ago. Although exports rose 4.7pc to $32.1bn, imports increased even faster by 6.6pc to $58.4bn, demonstrating a persistent pattern in which import growth outpaces export earnings. Energy remains perhaps the single largest reason Pakistan struggles to achieve a trade surplus. The country imports large quantities of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG, coal, and industrial fuels. During the first 11 months of FY26, petroleum imports exceeded 14m metric tonnes, up 7pc in volume from a year earlier. Our external trade imbalance is rooted in the very structure of the economy, which relies excessively on borrowing and remittances and fails to address structural issues More importantly, the import bill surged 13.7pc to a record $14.9bn. Even though exports fell by 5.6pc during the same period, a substantial share of foreign exchange earnings continued to be absorbed by energy purchases, deepening the trade deficit. Economic growth itself often widens the imbalance because rising industrial activity increases demand for imported energy. Our manufacturing sector also relies heavily on imported machinery, chemicals, raw materials, and intermediate goods. The textile industry, despite being the country’s export backbone, depends on imported machinery, dyes, chemicals, and specialised fibres. In FY25, textile machinery imports increased by 61.5pc to $241.2m, while power-generation equipment imports rose 47.8pc to $616.2m. The pharmaceutical, engineering, automobile, and technology industries exhibit similar dependence on imported components. As a result, producing exports frequently requires substantial imports first, limiting net foreign-exchange gains. A second structural challenge is Pakistan’s narrow export base. Textiles and textile-related products continue to dominate exports. In FY25, textile exports reached $17.89bn, up 7.39pc from the previous year. And, during the first 10 months of FY26, textile exports totalled $15.03bn, a modest 1.3pc increase from $14.83bn a year earlier. Textiles accounted for approximately 59.6pc of Pakistan’s $25.21bn total merchandise exports during this period. While the sector remains a major source of foreign exchange, excessive dependence on a single industry leaves Pakistan vulnerable to fluctuations in global demand, competition, and commodity prices. Countries such as South Korea and China reduced external vulnerabilities by diversifying into electronics, machinery, advanced manufacturing, and technology-intensive exports. Pakistan has yet to make a similar transition. The technological content of Pakistan’s exports also remains relatively low. Globally, the highest export revenues are generated by sectors such as semiconductors, industrial equipment, aerospace components, medical devices, and software-intensive products. Pakistan’s presence in these industries remains limited. The IT and IT-enabled services sector has shown encouraging growth. Exports reached a record $3.8bn in FY25, up 18pc. During the first 10 months of FY26, IT exports rose to approximately $3.3bn, a 12pc increase from $2.95bn a year earlier. However, the sector still represents only around 11–12pc of total merchandise and services exports. Even with sustained double-digit growth, Pakistan remains far behind more diversified export economies in high-value technology sectors. Demographics add another layer of pressure. Pakistan’s annual population growth rate of 2.55pc continues to increase demand for fuel, machinery, vehicles, medicines, electronics, and consumer goods. Unless export capacity expands at a similar pace, import demand naturally grows faster than export earnings, placing persistent pressure on the trade balance. Consumer and business preferences further reinforce import dependence. Imported products often enjoy a reputation for superior quality, particularly in electronics, automobiles, industrial equipment, and luxury goods. During the first nine months of FY26, imports of fully built-up motor vehicles rose 31pc to $263 million. Pakistani exporters also face longstanding obstacles, including high energy costs, infrastructure deficiencies, logistics inefficiencies, regulatory complexity, limited research and development spending, and shortages of skilled labour. According to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2025, Pakistan ranked 124th, down from 109th in 2023 and below India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Moreover, the cost of doing business is estimated to be roughly 34pc higher than in many regional competitors, reducing export competitiveness. Global competition is simultaneously becoming more intense. Countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Mexico continue to attract investment in export-oriented manufacturing through stronger infrastructure, larger industrial ecosystems, and more integrated supply chains. As the hybrid government prepares the FY27 budget, the challenge is not merely to narrow the trade deficit in the short term but to address the structural weaknesses that produce it year after year. A durable improvement requires reducing dependence on imported energy, expanding domestic industrial capacity, diversifying exports, improving productivity, and strengthening Pakistan’s competitiveness in global markets. Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 8th, 2026
Every federal budget is a stark reminder of how much Pakistan’s federal government is unable to spend within its means. Therefore, the burden to keep fiscal balance somewhat manageable falls on the same few sacrificial lambs, typically the formal sector in terms of collection and development needs for expenditure. Troublesome as it may be, the country’s gross public debt ratio of 70 per cent is not outrageously high by developing economy standards. However, one big problem is its concentration: over the past decade, commercial banks have held the bulk of the federal government’s debt. Of Pakistan’s Rs54.5 trillion in domestic debt, the bulk sits in marketable instruments, worth Rs46.6tr; of that, scheduled banks hold Rs36.8tr, or 79pc. Insurers account for under 5pc, mutual and pension funds for about 6pc, and a catch-all bucket of “corporates and others” for the rest. This makes the bank-sovereign nexus extreme by global standards. A World Bank analysis from the end of 2024 put Pakistani banks’ public-debt holdings at roughly 60pc of total assets, four times the global median and the highest in a sample of over 80 countries. As a result, the effect on credit activity has been highly detrimental, with the industry’s advances-to-deposits ratio hovering below 40pc and the share of small and medium enterprises barely 10pc of private-sector loans. Shift even a tenth of the Rs54tr domestic stock out of banks and into retail hands at a yield just 150 basis points cheaper, and the annual saving runs into the region of Rs80bn Since the two balance sheets of banking and sovereign are wound so tightly together, the relationship has curdled into something toxic. The government borrows from banks, taxes the profits from that borrowing, and banks push money away rather than put it to work. Somewhere in this loop, both the depositor and the real economy have been forgotten. When 79pc of the outstanding paper sits with a small club of institutional buyers, those buyers carry real pricing power into every auction; a market with retail savers, pension funds, insurers and foreign buyers each holding a meaningful slice generates competitive tension that bears down on yields, and a bank-dominated one simply does not. The institutional money that would normally provide that tension, chiefly the insurers, is too small to matter: at roughly 0.9pc of GDP against about 4pc in India, the entire sector’s asset base is smaller than a single year of government borrowing. That leaves retail, and on paper, the case for it is compelling. There are already millions of Pakistanis lending to the state through the old National Savings Schemes, currently holding Rs3.6tr. This segment has historically accepted lower yields than banks for the same sovereign credit, so widening the base could also trim the debt-servicing bill. A new policy InsightLab at the Karachi School of Business & Leadership, Karachi, argues that despite new instruments and platforms, the set of creditors holding Pakistan’s debt has barely changed over the past seven years. Banks still hold the vast majority. The new channels changed how the debt is sold, but not who buys it. Shift even a tenth of the Rs54tr domestic stock, some Rs5.5tr, out of banks and into retail hands at a yield just 50 to 150 basis points cheaper, and the annual saving runs into the region of Rs25bn to 80bn. This would make a noticeable difference to the debt-servicing bill, which has become the single largest line in the budget and only compounds each year. There is a structural prize too. Banks gravitate toward short-term and floating-rate paper, largely because their liability mix forces them to do so. Pakistani banks hold hardly any fixed deposits, just Rs6.1tr out of Rs37.3tr, so they cannot comfortably warehouse long, fixed exposure. A genuine retail base anchored by long-dated household savings would take on the very tenor the banks shy away from, easing the rollover risk that the current profile does nothing to address. For a government desperate to rein in its largest expenditure line, retail is the rare lever that lowers both cost and risk at once. But the question is: how does the sovereign reach this segment? Historically, that answer was National Savings, though it is not without shortcomings. Its rates are set by administrative fiat in discrete steps, so they lag the market. This is attractive to savers when rates fall, but it is a structure that works against the state’s own objectives, is untradable, capped at Rs5 million, and is pitched more as quasi-social security for widows and retirees than as a serious financing tool. The second route runs through the capital markets by issuing Sukuk directly at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. But this has fared no better at changing who holds the paper. Since December 2023, the government has auctioned Ijarah Sukuk through the exchange to dazzling headline demand, yet the paper is fully Statutory Liquidity Requirement-eligible, individuals cannot bid directly when fewer than 1pc of citizens hold a brokerage account, and banks still end up holding close to 90pc of the stock. Third is the diaspora channel, the Roshan Digital Account, and truly the one relative win: over 927,000 accounts opened and more than $12.7bn received since 2020, though Naya Pakistan Certificates, the debt instrument inside it, have never crossed 2pc of government external debt. The newest effort tries to fix the access problem at its root. Investor Portfolio Securities (IPS) accounts have long let individuals hold government paper in principle, but in practice, the channel meant branch visits, manual forms, and bank staff with little incentive to promote it, so few ever used it. The State Bank of Pakistan’s InvestPak portal, launched in November 2025, builds on that plumbing and strips out the friction. It does so by allowing individuals to open an IPS account, bid at auction, and trade securities entirely online. In theory, it is the most promising of the lot, with one catch: the access still routes through bank-maintained IPS accounts, the very institutions with no commercial reason to usher retail investors toward an asset class they would rather keep for themselves. India faced the same problem and took a different route. Its RBI Retail Direct scheme, launched in 2021, lets individuals hold government bonds in an account directly with the central bank, cutting out banks. If there is a single fix worth making, it is to stop flying blind. Pakistan now runs several parallel retail channels and publishes consolidated data on none of them, so nobody can actually say whether the needle is moving. The holder-wise statistics do not even carry a separate line for individual investors. The rest follows from there: a genuinely retail-sized product rather than the Rs100,000 minimum tickets that pass for one today, and an honest decision on whether to keep routing retail through the banks or, as India did, around them. None of this pays off in a single budget. But the concentration did not build itself overnight either, and years of inaction cannot be undone in days. After seven years of new instruments, the holder of last resort is still the bank. It will stay that way until the state builds something savers can actually use and a route that doesn’t run through the institutions it is trying to move beyond. Mutaher Khan is co-founder of Data Darbar and Head of InsightLab at KSBL. Shahzaib Abbasi is an analysts at InsightLab. Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, June 8th, 2026
The prime minister also rejected government borrowings to cover the cost of subsidies.
SUNGAI PETANI, June 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he did not agree with the move to increase fu...
• Approves Rs100bn financing facility for PSO • Oil company facing over Rs900bn receivables from SOEs • Special honoraria expanded to more ministries, departments • Rs10.15bn cleared for Pakistan Navy’s Hangor Project • Rs4.38bn granted to Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of elections ISLAMABAD: Less than a week before the next budget, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Friday approved more than Rs40 billion in supplementary grants and a Rs100bn sovereign-guarantee-backed financing facility for the Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which is facing over Rs900bn in receivables from other state-owned enterprises, raising concerns about smooth oil supplies. And despite financial constraints forcing development cuts in the name of IMF restrictions, the ECC meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also allowed Rs10bn additional funds for parliamentarians’ development schemes and expanded the scope of special honoraria running up to six-month additional salaries to more ministries and departments involved in federal budget preparations. The benefit, already available to officials in around a dozen ministries and entities, including finance, revenue, planning, development, FBR, National Assembly, Senate and the Prime Minister’s Office, was expanded to the Law and Justice Division, Commerce Division and the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR). The fiscal impact was not disclosed. The meeting also changed the composition of a committee set up to settle about Rs60bn in petroleum levy dues charged to consumers but allegedly withheld by Cnergyico Refinery since 2019, citing concerns over conflict of interest, and ordered a tightened recovery plan. An official statement said the ECC approved a summary submitted by the Cabinet Division for Rs7.026bn through a technical supplementary grant for the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme (SAP). “The allocation will facilitate continuity of development projects, prevent cost escalations, and timely achievement of programme objectives,” the statement said. Officials said the finance minister was under pressure from the leadership to provide funds for parliamentarians’ schemes in the outgoing fiscal year despite an about Rs175bn cut in the core development programme. The ECC also approved a summary of the Ministry of Defence for Rs10.15bn for the Hangor Project of the Pakistan Navy under the Rafale Aircraft and Force Development Package (RAFDP)-2030. The committee approved letters of comfort and government guarantees worth Rs100bn for PSO through a syndicated running finance facility to address its liquidity constraints and ensure uninterrupted oil supplies. The meeting was informed that state-owned enterprises, particularly gas companies, owed more than Rs904bn to PSO, making it increasingly difficult for the company to manage supply challenges under current geopolitical conditions. Instead of arranging recovery of those payments, the ECC approved borrowing of Rs50bn each from Habib Bank and Bank of Punjab to meet oil requirements. The borrowing will appear on PSO’s balance sheet. The meeting also took up the Deed of Settlement with Cnergyico PK Limited, which had collected petroleum levy from consumers but allegedly did not deposit it in the government treasury. The company is also seeking benefits under the Refining Policy for the upgradation of existing brownfield refineries. The ECC had earlier approved the constitution of a committee under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to resolve the late payment surcharge issue. Subsequently, the Law and Justice Division proposed amendments to strengthen safeguards for government revenues by requiring Cnergyico to deposit incremental incentives in a joint escrow account with Ogra and restricting withdrawals until the outstanding petroleum levy and late payment surcharge amounts were fully settled. The ECC was informed that the composition of the committee needed to be reviewed due to concerns over potential conflict of interest arising from the inclusion of the Cnergyico chief executive officer. A new committee was constituted under the convenership of the finance secretary, comprising representatives of the Law and Justice Division, Petroleum Division and SIFC, to resolve the late payment surcharge issue with Cnergyico and strengthen recovery of around Rs60bn, including Rs47.5bn in principal amount. The committee approved seven grants for the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control worth Rs2.826bn. These included Rs693m for security arrangements for the Islamabad peace talks, Rs241m as compensation for the suicide bombing at Imambargah Khadijah-tul-Kubra in Taralai, Islamabad, Rs528m for the Pakistan Land Ports Authority, Rs800m for procurement of fast patrol boats for the Pakistan Coast Guards, Rs1.884bn for the expansion of the Safe City Islamabad project, Rs150m for the National Counter Terrorism Authority and Rs414m for security charges relating to the Reko Diq project. The ECC approved Rs733m for Pakistan Television Corporation for payment of salaries for June 2026 and Rs183.5m for the Special Communication Organisation for installation of telecom sites and towers in Shigar district of Gilgit-Baltistan. It also approved Rs120m for the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to meet employee-related expenditures arising from revised salaries and allowances of parliamentary secretaries during FY26. The meeting approved two grants for the Ministry of Housing and Works for placement of development funds into the current account of Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Limited. These included Rs8.759bn for Karachi and Hyderabad Urban Infrastructure Development Packages and Rs2.84bn for parliamentary schemes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ECC also granted Rs1.3bn for the Modernisation and Upgradation of Pakistan Mint Phase-II-A and Rs4.377bn to the Gilgit-Baltistan government to support current expenditure requirements and priority initiatives launched ahead of elections. The committee also approved budget estimates of IPO-Pakistan for FY26, submitted by the Ministry of Commerce, comprising regular expenditure of Rs914.7m and projected revenue receipts of Rs918m. The ECC also approved a summary of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs regarding the operational continuity of Engro Vopak Terminal Limited. Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026
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