Pakistan Seeks US Financing to Boost Investor Confidence: Aurangzeb

Islamabad: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan is focused on securing US financing to serve as a confidence signal to private investors. He told the Financial Times that Pakistan had received constructive engagement from Washington over the ten billion dollars swap line and hoped to receive an answer in the next couple of months.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Finance Minister said the government wanted to stimulate exports to break the import-dependent country’s perennial balance of payments crises. He highlighted potential areas of collaboration, such as Exim Bank potentially financing sales of Boeing aircraft to the newly privatised Pakistan International Airlines. Additionally, there is interest in having US companies assist in upgrading Pakistan’s oil refineries. Aurangzeb also pointed out that the Development Finance Corporation could take equity stakes in Pakistani conglomerates, marking further opportunities for economic cooperation between the two nations.