Those earning $2 a day should also be counted as poor: Dar

 

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday said poverty needs to be defined afresh and those earning US $2 a day should also be considered poor.
Speaking at the first business session at the 47th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors in Astana, Kazakstan, Dar said the national economy would hopefully grow by over 4 percent during the current fiscal year (2013-14).

Inflation would remain in a single digits due to growth in both the agricultural and industrial sectors, Dar said, adding that the fiscal deficit had been reduced to around 6 percent through an increase in revenues, reduction in expenditure and positive growth in exports and remittances.

Necessary domestic reforms were being undertaken as the government preferred regional integration through increased connectivity and enhanced preferential arrangements, he added. He outlined the government’s strategies for overcoming the macro-economic challenges, according to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry here.

It said during the Constituency Breakfast Meeting, Dar suggested that the ADB revise the absolute poverty line from $1.25 per day to $2 per day in conformity with the latest revision adopted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The minister stated thatpresently 2.4 billion people were living below the poverty line of $2 a day.During the Governor’s Plenary Session, the minister highlighted the government’s response to the recent natural disasters in Pakistan and future strategy of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan. He emphasised the need to reduce exposure to natural hazards and disasters.

He suggested that the development partners such as the ADB, World Bank and IMF devise different strategies and action plans for promoting disaster risk reduction programmes. He said these institutions could benefit from Pakistan’s experiences.

Dar invited Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bakhyt Sultanov and President Nursultan Nazarbayev to visit Pakistan this year. He requested Sultanov to consider measures for easing the movement of people along with enhanced cooperation in the areas of trade, investment banking and finance.

The World Bank also appreciated Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s vision, hard work, kindness and courage to tackle difficult issues the country has been facing.In a letter written to Dar with regard to Pakistan Day, WB Vice President (South Asia Region) Philippe Le Hourou said the Board was appreciative of the actions taken by Pakistan.

Le Houerou advised Pakistan to stay the course, and for the World Bank Group to stay engaged in Pakistan’s development. “I am happy to report that it really was a ‘Pakistan Day’ and Pakistan was shinning. It is very clear that we owe this success to the strong leadership of the prime minister and to the finance minister personally”, Le Houerou added.

Pakistan sells $2 bn bonds in world market

 

ISLAMABAD: After seven years, Pakistan made a historic return to the international bond market with a US dollar denominated dual tranche offering, aggregating $2 billion, raising $1 billion each in five-year and 10-year terms.
The transaction represents the largest-ever international bond offering by Pakistan, the Ministry of Finance spokesman disclosed on Wednesday.A source said it was heavily over-subscribed with the offering ranging between $5 to $7 billion but only $2 billion was accepted.

The spokesman said that against the initial expectations of raising $500 million, the investor response was overwhelmingly strong and the order-books were oversubscribed across the two tranches, consisting of over 400 orders from high quality investors.

The five-year bonds were distributed across all major geographic regions: 59pc in the US, 19pc in the UK, 10pc in Europe, 10pc in Asia and 2pc in others. Fund managers took 84pc of the five-year issue, banks 8pc, hedge funds 7pc, insurance company/ pension funds 1pc.

The 10-year bonds were distributed as: 61pc in the US, 21pc in the UK, 12pc in Europe, 5pc in Asia and the Middle East and 1pc in other regions. Fund managers took 86pc of the 10-year issue, hedge funds 9pc, banks 4pc, insurance company/ pension funds 1pc.

The Government of Pakistan conducted extensive global roadshows with two teams covering key financial centres. A team headed by the finance minister visited Dubai, London and New York and another team headed by the finance secretary visited Singapore, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. The Pakistan government delegations met directly with a cross-section of several institutional fixed-income investors during the four days of roadshows. The teams updated the investors on the recent trends in the Pakistani economy, the government’s reforms agenda and key priorities.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his appreciation at the return of Pakistan to the international bond market and congratulated the finance minister and his economic team for attaining another milestone, says a press release.

The premier stated that re-emergence of Pakistan in the international market showed that the prudent and focused economic policies of the government were now proving successful. He added that this success also reflected the confidence of the international economic forces and institutions in the economic stability and strength of Pakistan.

He said it also proved that the economic wisdom and acumen of the government had finally won the confidence of international investors. The prime minister further added that achieving economic independence and progression was his government’s top priority and with current successes, the way ahead was clear, which would lead to prosperity and development of the country.

Reuters adds: Pakistan marketed $1 billion of five-year notes at a yield of 7.25 percent and $1 billion of 10-year securities at 8.25 percent, said an official requesting not to be named as the figures would not be officially released until today (Thursday).