This week, Pakistan successfully issued a 3-year RMB 1.75 billion panda bond in the Chinese interbank market for the first time. This milestone transaction not only broadened Pakistan’s international financing channels but also marked its first entry into the Chinese capital market. Standard Chartered (China) Ltd. Co, as the only foreign bank serving as joint lead underwriter and joint book runner, supported the successful issuance of the bond.
This issuance was partially supported by guarantee from multilateral development institutions—the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)—with 95% of the principal and interest guaranteed, enabling Chinese investors to participate in the development of sustainable projects in Pakistan. The bond issuance drew exceptionally overwhelming demand from Chinese banks, securities houses as well as foreign banks, enabling Pakistan to land its inaugural panda transaction at 2.50%, the tightest level of the pricing range on the back of 5x oversubscribed orderbook.
Salman Ansari, Global Head, Capital Markets, Standard Chartered, said: “Pakistan’s inaugural Panda bond is a strategically important transaction that broadens the sovereign’s access to global pools of capital and demonstrates the growing relevance of regional markets in the international funding landscape. From a global markets’ perspective, this issuance stands out for combining strong institutional support and access to deep Renminbi liquidity to deliver financing channels. At Standard Chartered, we remain focused on helping sovereign and institutional clients navigate increasingly interconnected capital markets and unlock diversified sources of funding across geographies.”
Jerry Zhang, Global Head of Banks & Broker Dealers and Head of Coverage, Greater China and North Asia, Standard Chartered, comments: “This transaction fully demonstrates Standard Chartered’s outstanding capability as a ‘super connector’ in linking overseas issuers with China’s capital markets. It also highlights the long-standing and solid cooperation between Standard Chartered and the Ministry of Finance of Pakistan, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. The successful issuance of this Panda bond is also a key reflection of the Renminbi’s steady transition from a traditional trade settlement currency to a financing currency. With an increasingly diverse range of issuers in the Panda bond market and the continuous improvement of cross-border Renminbi payment systems, the Renminbi is expected to accelerate its strategic shift from a regional to a global currency, playing an even more significant role in the international economic landscape.”
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