KARACHI: The governm­ent on Thursday raised Rs168.8 billion through auction of Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), exceeding its target of Rs125bn.

According to the SBP rep­ort, Rs81.45bn was raised for three-year bonds with a cut-off yield at 7.64pc. Simi­lar­ly, Rs57.9bn was raised for 5-year instrumen at 8.05pc.

Another Rs27bn was borr­owed for 10 years and Rs2.5bn for 15-years at 8.69pc and 9.97pc, respectively. The long-term bonds got relatively hi­­gher returns while the three- and five-year ones reflected the prevailing low interest rate. While the government has been raising increased amounts through short-term treasury bills, investors were also interested in bonds.

The State of Pakistan Bank has slashed interest rate by 5.25 percentage to eight per cent within two months with further decrea­­se possible to boost economic activity in the country.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2020