Standard Chartered Supports Pakistan’s First Panda Bond Issuance in Chinese Interbank Market

Pakistan has successfully completed its inaugural Panda bond issuance in China’s interbank bond market, raising RMB 1.75 billion through a three-year transaction that marks the country’s first direct entry into China’s capital markets.

Standard Chartered (China) Ltd. Co acted as the only foreign bank serving as joint lead underwriter and joint book runner for the transaction, supporting Pakistan in broadening its international financing channels while strengthening financial connectivity between regional capital markets.

The issuance received strong support from multilateral development institutions, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which together guaranteed 95 per cent of the bond’s principal and interest payments. The structure helped attract significant demand from Chinese banks, securities houses, and international financial institutions.

The transaction was reportedly more than five times oversubscribed, allowing Pakistan to price the bond at 2.50 per cent, the tightest end of the indicated pricing range.

Salman Ansari, Global Head, Capital Markets, Standard Chartered, described the issuance as a strategically important transaction that expands Pakistan’s access to global liquidity pools while demonstrating the growing relevance of regional capital markets within the international funding landscape.

The transaction also reflects the broader evolution of the Renminbi within global financial markets, as China continues expanding the role of its currency beyond trade settlement into cross-border financing and sovereign funding structures.

Jerry Zhang, Global Head of Banks & Broker Dealers and Head of Coverage, Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered, said the transaction highlighted the bank’s role in connecting international issuers with China’s domestic capital markets while also reflecting the continued internationalisation of the Renminbi.

The Panda bond market has increasingly attracted a wider range of sovereign, supranational, and institutional issuers in recent years as regional economies explore diversified funding channels and deeper access to Chinese liquidity pools.