OUR STAFF REPORTER
lahore
Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has said that Pak rupee will further strengthen by the end of next month, as the government is all set to issue the Sukuk bonds worth $1 billion by end of November 2014, which was actually due in Sept last but delayed owing to political uncertainty in the country.
Talking to a news channel, Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan would receive $1.1 billion from International Monetary Fund (IMF) by mid of December and $1 billion by issuing Sukuk bonds this month.
These two transactions, including IMF tranche and Sukuk bonds, would take the Pakistan’s reserves to the $15 billion by end of December, stabilizing the local currency further. He said that the government would complete the process of issuing Sukuk bonds from November 25 to 30.
The government would hold road shows from November 23 to 25 in London and Middle Eastern countries, he said and added that he is visiting these countries on Nov 22 to personally finalize the arrangements in this regard.
The PML-N government had planned to generate $1 billion from issuing Sukuk bonds that would help in building the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Ishaq Dar said that government would meet its target to build the foreign exchange reserves to $15 billion by the end of December 2014. Ishaq Dar informed that Pakistan would eligible for loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) that would enable it to undertake major projects after enhancing its reserves to $15 billion level. Finance Minister said that Pakistan needs additional $2 billion for taking loans from IBRD, as currently reserves are slightly above than $13 billion. He went down hard on the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for delaying the transaction of OGDCL and issuing Sukuk bonds due to sit-in, which was scheduled in September this year. Finance Minister said that Pakistan’s currency is gaining its lost value and Karachi Stock Exchange is performing well due to the government’s economic policies.