The Islamic Republic of Pakistan $500m notes due 2009
ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan were joint lead managers and joint bookrunners
The transaction marked Pakistan’s re-entry into the international markets after a four-year absence, and its success was a clear sign of investor confidence in the country’s economic policies and reform agenda. Four times oversubscription and tight pricing clearly underlined investors’ appetite to buy into the growth story.
Pakistan achieved pricing of 370bp over five-year US Treasuries, at the tighter end of revised price guidance of 6.75% to 6.85%. This was achieved on the back of solid investor demand across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Strong secondary market performance, with spreads tightening 10bp almost immediately, was the confirmation – if needed – of the deal’s success.