Loud Thinking November 29, 2014 at 05:46PM

Mr. Ishaq Dar the nation needs your answers to the below mentioned questions on your decision to obtain 1$ billion through Sukuk bonds by pledging Lahore – Islamabad motorway.

1. Kashif
Nov 27, 2014 – 9:28AM
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After motor way what next. Raising capital at such a high dollar percentage is going to bite the nation when it comes to paying back. Offering a rate higher than market shows desperation of the the finance team. Sadly all these loan schemes will end up with the prime minister dining in London with his family and the nation fighting with each other for basic necessities of life.

2.just_someone

Nov 27, 2014 – 7:53PM
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@Gp65:

I know that son… Im an economist, I know these things well..
My point is quantitative rather than qualitative.
I could go through tons of auction mechanisms which would have done what I said at a cheaper rate (i.e. less than 6.25, nothing related to uncomparable sovereigns)

3. Jamil
Nov 27, 2014 – 2:13PM
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Compared to the prevailing global interest the rate on bonds is totally out of line and we should be ashamed for our government to have accepted it and beating their chest for it. Further should we be happy at every Pakistani being burdened by increasing indebtedness by the current government. Borrowing and at such high cost is a recipe for disaster.

4. Parvez
Nov 27, 2014 – 1:37PM
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It would be good to know who the actual purchasers of these bonds are ?
If you have millions sitting in Swiss Banks earning next to nothing…….then 6.75% backed by the government makes good sense for the actual purchasers.

5. Gp65
Nov 27, 2014 – 11:24AM
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@just_someone: “Wow, that is a very high interest rate on the bonds.”
Please note that Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating is B- which is deep into junk bond vategory.. It would have to go up 6 grades to reach the minimum non-junk grade which is BBB- (B, B+, BB-, BB, BB+, BBB-)
High risk does require higher returns. Even this rate would have been impossible to get if it had not been for the underlying collateral.

6. japani
Nov 27, 2014 – 8:37AM
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He added that the profit rate of 6.75% compares favourably with the average weighted cost of comparable domestic debt of about 11% in Pakistan, and will save the country about Rs5 billion annually in debt servicing.
OMG! The rupee depreciates around 6-7% a year so you have to add that to the interest rate as well. He’s being disingenous by ignoring that aspect.
Unlike the Euro bond that was issued without collateral, the government has pledged the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway to raise funds
I wonder what will happen in the event Pakistan defaults on this loan. Will the foreign investors take control over the motorway :)?

7. Siraj Ahmed
Nov 27, 2014 – 8:27AM
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Our Pm and Fin. minister may say aby good thing about Pakistan economy. But it is in such shambles that govt had to raise money at 6.75% even after pledging security?
Its 4 times more costly than normal international arbitrages are because no one trusts this govt. Will Imran khan talk about it on 30th ?

8. Bewildered
Nov 27, 2014 – 7:24AM
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Even junk bonds don’t yield this much return nowadays, and this Sukuk issue was backed by collateral and sovereign guarantees. What an utter waste of Pakistan’s already meager resources most likely to benefit the select.

9. Rebel
Nov 27, 2014 – 6:55AM
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Any body would invest at such a high interest rate (6.75%) with international interest outlook for govt. bonds not that good….
Its well above market rate that has attracted investors. I disagree with FM saying it shows investor confidence. He is not comparing apples with apples while comparing domestic rates and this rate.
Future government will pay higher price for their poor action….

10. Asif
Nov 27, 2014 – 6:30AM
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He added that the profit rate of 6.75% compares favourably with the average weighted cost of comparable domestic debt of about 11% in Pakistan, and will save the country about Rs5 billion annually in debt servicing
Is our finance minister really that stupid?? How on earth can he compare 6.75% rate in US Dollar with 11% in Rupee? Has he taken into account the yearly depreciation rate of PKR against USD? The true rate will be around 20%, and how does he expect a broke country like Pakistan to repay the debt? We don’t have export surplus from where we could generate extra USD.

11. just_someone
Nov 27, 2014 – 5:48AM
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Wow, that is a very high interest rate on the bonds.
The mechanism for the auction seems flawed… you would expect that they would have decreased the interest rate given the high demand (simple supply and demand) but they didnt have that in the ex-ante mechanism.
We could have sold the original amount much cheaper!

Tags: My Views