ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government is planning to issue a $500 million green bond in the next few months to help boost its development of hydroelectric power, international media reported.
Last August, Pakistan set in motion a plan to boost the share of its electric power that comes from renewables to 30% by 2030, up from about 4%.
The bond, denominated in euros, will be the government’s first to fund environmental goals, Malik Amin Aslam, an adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan on climate change, said in an interview with Bloomberg. It is set to be issued through the country’s state-owned Water & Power Development Authority, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. advising, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of hydro potential in Pakistan,” he said. “The bonds are there to accelerate this.”
Khan’s government is investing in renewable energy to ramp up its economic stimulus in the wake of the pandemic. It’s also promised to ban new coal power plants and is looking to plant 10 billion trees. The nation’s cities rank among the worst globally for air pollution, according to IQAir.
With boosts in hydropower capacity expected, the shift could bring the share of clean energy in Pakistan’s electricity mix to 65% by 2030, Nadeem Babar, head of a task force on energy reforms in Pakistan, has said.
The new national renewables policy, approved by the prime minister’s cabinet in December 2019, was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and as negotiators tried to resolve disputes with individual provinces.
But Asad Umar, federal minister for planning and development, has said on social media the resolution of those disputes now opened the way to “unleash Pakistan’s full potential” for renewables.
The issuance of green bonds globally is seen surging to $375 billion in 2021 by Moody’s Investors Service, after record sales last year. While Europe has led the way, countries from Singapore to Brazil plan to sell their first to tap buoyant investor demand.
Pakistan plans to issue $500 mln green bond to boost hydro power
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Pakistan plans to issue $500 mln green bond to boost hydro power
- The bond will be the government’s first to fund environmental goals, adviser to PM Khan on climate change says
- Last August, Pakistan announced new policy to boost share of its electric power from renewables to 30% by 2030, up from about 4%
Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts
- Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
- Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate.
The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last month, breaking a four-meeting hold in a move that surprised markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry.
“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News.
The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.
Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.
“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said.
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”
“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.
