Pakistan to set up Infrastructure Bank

Government will set up Pakistan Infrastructure Bank with a paid-up capital of one billion dollars to finance private investors in development projects, said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. “Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and government will hold 20 percent stake each in the proposed Bank, while international organisations, such as International Finance Corporation, will have the remaining shares,” Dar told a press briefing with the Pakistani media towards the end of his current visit to Washington DC. He gave a detailed round up on the plenary sessions with the IMF and World Bank during the briefing. He was on a five-day visit to U.S. to attend the spring meetings of IMF and the World Bank. The government would soon be launching Pakistan Development Funds. The shares worth Rs100 billion of the Fund would be offered to Pakistani diaspora in order to effectively channelise their valuable remittances. Later on, the Fund’s shares would be enlisted on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. “After success of sukuk bonds, Pakistan Development Fund would be another attractive investment for overseas Pakistanis,” he added. The government is consulting with the World Bank to introduce solar energy, as a new electricity generation alternative, at a lowest cost in Pakistan. World Bank remained bullish on Pakistan’s growth prospects for the next three years, revising its earlier projection notches up on large cross-border infrastructure investment, reforms and restoration of investor confidence. The bank, in its flagship report, forecast the GDP growth in the South Asia’s second biggest economy at 5.2 percent for 2017. It added that the growth is expected to accelerate from 5.5 percent in 2018 to 5.8 percent in 2019, “reflecting improvements in agriculture, infrastructure, energy and external demand.” IMF, in its world economic outlook, forecast the country’s growth at 5 percent in 2017 and 5.2 percent in 2018, supported by ramped-up infrastructure investment. The Asian Development Bank is also bullish over the country’s economic prospects this fiscal year, upgrading its growth forecast to 5.2 percent on improved energy supply and security and rising investment. The minister said the global credit rating agencies have upgraded the rating of Pakistan from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ and from stable to ‘positive’ over the years to an extent that the country is likely to be included in G-20 countries by 2030.