The government has announced its borrowing plan for the next three months (December-February) of the fiscal year 2024, aiming to raise Rs6.006 trillion through various instruments.
According to the auction calendar issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the government will borrow Rs3.646 trillion through the sale of Market Treasury Bills (MTBs), Rs2.25 trillion through the sale of Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) Fixed Rate and Floating Rate, and Rs110 billion through the sale of Government of Pakistan Ijara Sukuk Variable Rental Rate (VRR) and Fixed Rental Rate (FRR).
The SBP will conduct six auctions of MTBs and four auctions of PIBs during the period of Dec-Feb 2024. The first auction of MTBs will be held on December 13, with a target of Rs2.25 trillion, followed by another auction on December 27, with a target of Rs510 billion.
In January, the SBP will hold two more auctions of MTBs, one on January 10 with a target of Rs100 billion and another on January 24 with a target of Rs6 billion.
In February, the last two auctions of MTBs will be held, one on February 06 with a target of Rs480 billion and another on February 21 with a target of Rs300 billion.
The first auction of PIBs will be held on December 15, with a target of Rs270 billion for fixed rate bonds of 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors. The second auction of PIBs will be held on January 12, with a target of Rs720 billion for floating rate bonds of 10-year tenor with a semi-annual coupon payment.
The third auction of PIBs will be held on January 26, with a target of Rs480 billion for floating rate bonds of 2-year tenor with a quarterly coupon payment. The fourth and final auction of PIBs will be held on February 09, with a target of Rs480 billion for floating rate bonds of 3-year tenor with a quarterly coupon payment.
The SBP will also conduct two auctions of GOP Ijara Sukuk, one on December 29 with a target of Rs60 billion for VRR Sukuk of 3-year tenor, and another on January 31 with a target of Rs50 billion for FRR Sukuk of 5-year tenor.
The borrowing plan shows that the government is relying more on long-term instruments, as the target amount for PIBs is higher than that for MTBs. The government will also issue two new types of PIBs, with a floating rate and a quarterly coupon payment, for 2-year and 3-year tenors.
First-ever Ijara Sukuk auction at PSX
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) had earlier announced that it would hold the first-ever auction of listed government Ijara Sukuk bonds in a bid to raise Rs90 billion from the sale of one-year Islamic bonds between December 2023 and February 2024.
The first one-year Ijara Sukuk auction at the PSX took place on December 8 and the government raised Rs479 billion, attracting 16 times more than the target amount of Rs30 billion.
The cut-off yield for the Sukuk was below 20%, which was significantly lower than the average 22% return on one-year T-bills.
The auction was conducted through the Capital Market Infrastructure Institutions (CMIIs), which include the PSX, the National Clearing and Settlement Company of Pakistan (NCCPL), and the Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC).
The Ministry of Finance had recently approved some amendments to the rules governing the issuance, registration, trading, and transfer of government debt securities through the CMIIs, enabling the PSX to conduct the primary market issuance.
The second auction will be held on January 23, with the same target of Rs30 billion, and settlement on January 24, 2023. The third and final auction will take place in February 2024, with a target of Rs30 billion and settlement on the same day as the auction date.
on one hand SBP has not curtailed it’s policy rate from 22% to 21%. On other hand Rs 6 trillion are being planned to be borrowed in next quarter.
Don’t you think, how costly this debt would be if policy rate is not brought down.