ISLAMABAD: The government announced Tuesday that the public will be allowed to trade government securities, including treasury bills and bonds, through the stock market.
The measure forms part of efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s local currency bond market and meet commitments under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The announcement followed a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and an IMF staff mission led by Iva Petrova. The mission discussed developments in the power, petroleum and automobile sectors, privatisation and Federal Board of Revenue reforms.
The finance minister also briefed officials on recent economic indicators, credit-rating improvements and the investment environment.
If the IMF review concludes successfully, Pakistan could receive around $1.2 billion by late October or early November. The amount includes $1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and $200 million through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. However, Pakistan may need waivers over missed structural benchmarks.
The new Local Currency Bond Market plan aims to create a deeper, more liquid and resilient market for rupee-denominated government and corporate securities.
Commercial banks currently hold about 78% of government securities, while sovereign debt accounts for nearly 62% of banking-sector assets. Authorities want to reduce this concentration and encourage greater private-sector lending.
Under the plan, eligible bank customers will be able to trade exchange-listed government securities through their banks. The system will operate under oversight from the State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Stock Exchange and Central Depository Company.
The strategy also seeks to broaden the investor base, improve secondary-market liquidity, modernise infrastructure and remove legal and tax barriers to securities trading.
The government will additionally review the primary dealer framework for fiscal year 2027-28 and develop a securities-lending facility for primary dealers.
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