Senate Standing Committee on Finance Chairman Saleem Mandiwala has summoned the secretary finance to brief the committee on issuance of Eurobonds.
The meeting of the committee was held on Friday which was chaired by Senator Saleem Mandiwala. Senator Fateh Muhammad Hassni, Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour and Senator Mohsin Aziz also participated in the meeting.
The committee meeting discussed several issues including illegal promotions in National Bank, import of apples from Iran, and compensations demanded by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. The committee also discussed issuance of Eurobonds and summoned secretary finance in next meeting of the committee for comprehensive briefing over the issue.
In September last year, the government had issued a $500 million Eurobond with a maturity period of 10 years in the international market at an interest rate of 8.25 per cent. The government had paid 6.12 per cent over and above the US treasury rate for 10-year bond – a cost that highlighted investors’ sentiments about the health of the country’s economy. However, the government’s decision to go ahead with the issue despite unfavourable circumstances fuelled speculations that some dignitaries had availed the opportunity. The parliamentary body had decided to summon representatives of three international banks, which the government hired for the purpose of issuing $500 million Eurobonds late last year after it suspected that money invested by ‘foreigners’ had actually been flown in from Pakistan.
The Senate standing committee on finance and revenue had decided to call the representatives after the government could not satisfy the parliamentarians about the nationality of those who invested in the dollar-denominated Eurobonds.
The government, last month, gave the briefing during an in-camera meeting but did not give any material information, said a senator seeking anonymity.
