Pakistan raises PKR 793 billion through PIB auction

Pakistan has raised PKR 793 billion through the auction of the Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) on Wednesday, according to the central bank.

PIBs are long-term debt instruments used by the government to raise money.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the government raised PKR 793 billion against a target of PKR 400 billion.

The difference in target and raised amount hints towards the government's efforts to bridge the fiscal deficit through local borrowings, according to analysts.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has fallen short of its collection target by PKR 274 billion during the first four months of the 2025–26 fiscal year, mainly due to weaker domestic sales tax receipts.

According to the SBP, the government received bids of PKR 1.44 trillion.

The yields for two-, three-, and five-year bonds increased by 15, 14, and 14 basis points to 11.48%, 11.49% and 11.64%respectively.

The yields for 10-year bonds remained unchanged at 12% while that for 15-year bonds fell by 9 basis points to 12.25%.

No bids were received for 20- and 30-year bonds.

The largest amount was raised through bonds with a 15-year maturity period (PKR 540 billion), followed by 10-year bonds (PKR 147 billion), three-year bonds (PKR 145 billion), five-year bonds (PKR 97 billion), and 2-year bonds (PKR 64 billion).

What are T-bills and PIBs?

The Pakistan government raises money from local and foreign investors through debt instruments. T-bills are one of those instruments backed by the government. Other such instruments are Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), National Savings instruments, Eurobonds, International Sukuk, etc.

T-Bills are short-term, highly liquid government securities issued in 3, 6, and 12-month tenors. The State Bank of Pakistan auctions T-bills every fortnight (on Wednesdays).

PIBs are debt securities issued by the State Bank of Pakistan. These bonds are issued in denominations of multiples of PKR 100,000 and available in tenors of 3, 5, 10, and 20 years. The yield on these bonds is fixed and disbursed semi-annually.