ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met with senior executives from leading global financial institutions in London and invited them to invest and expand their services in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a busy day in the UK capital, the premier held a series of meetings with top officials of Barclays, JP Morgan, Citi, BlackRock and Rothschild & Co.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the day, he also became the first Pakistani prime minister to open trading at the London Stock Exchange, according to his office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement, the PM\u2019s Office (PMO) said the premier\u2019s engagements with the global firms \u201cunderscored growing international financial sector interest in Pakistan\u2019s economic reform trajectory and improving investment climate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his meeting with a high-level JP Morgan delegation led by its co-CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa Matthieu Wiltz, PM Shehbaz invited the firm to expand its footprint in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He discussed deepening the partnership across capital markets, trade finance and investment banking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to PMO, the JP Morgan delegation \u201creaffirmed its interest in sovereign debt capital markets and corporate banking opportunities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meeting with Mohammad Kamal Syed, head of Private Bank and Wealth Management UK at Barclays, PM Shehbaz briefed him on the government\u2019s macroeconomic stabilisation measures and encouraged Barclays to explore opportunities in the country\u2019s financial sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prime minister welcomed the bank\u2019s \u201cinterest in Pakistan\u201d, PMO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PM Shehbaz also met with Rothschild & Co, represented by Chair of Geostrategic Advisory Lord Mark Sedwill and Head of UK Investment Banking Majid Ishaq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDiscussions centred on Pakistan\u2019s geo-economic priorities and potential advisory collaboration on capital markets and investment strategy,\u201d PMO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The premier also met a group of senior officials of Citi, led by Chief Client Officer David Livingstone, encouraging the bank to expand its \u201ccorporate and institutional banking services\u201d in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prime minister commended Citi\u2019s long-standing presence in Pakistan, the statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his meeting with a BlackRock delegation, PM Shehbaz \u201cinvited increased allocations to Pakistani equities and fixed income within the firm\u2019s frontier markets strategy, with both sides emphasising the importance of sustained policy consistency in building investor confidence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The delegation comprised the co-heads of Emerging Markets and Frontiers, Gordon Fraser and Sam Vecht, along with Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst Emily Fletcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAcross all engagements, the visiting executives expressed confidence in Pakistan\u2019s economic reform momentum and reaffirmed their institutions\u2019 commitment to deepening engagement with the country\u2019s financial sector,\u201d PMO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It asserted that the meetings reflected the \u201cgrowing traction of Pakistan\u2019s economic reform programme among the world\u2019s leading financial institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The engagements also \u201cmark a significant step in the government\u2019s broader effort to strengthen international investor confidence and attract sustained capital flows into the country\u201d, the statement highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Adviser to PM on Privatisation Muhammad Ali, who also heads the Privatisation Commission, were present in the meetings as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
London Stock Exchange ceremony
In an earlier statement, PMO noted that PM Shehbaz became the first prime minister from Pakistan to open the London Stock Exchange\u2019s (LSE) trading session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also formally inaugurated Pakistan\u2019s landmark $3 billion dual-tranche sovereign Eurobond, raised earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LSE\u2019s market opening ceremony is held at its headquarters in Paternoster Square and formally marks the start of the trading day in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Chief Executive Officer David Schwimmer and senior officials of the group welcomed the prime minister on his arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aurangzeb, the LSEG CEO, the Privatisation Commission head, Pakistan High Commissioner Tipu Usman, members of the Pakistani delegation and relevant British authorities attended the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPakistan in recent years has worked very hard to strengthen its economy,\u201d PM Shehbaz said while addressing the audience, terming the country\u2019s improved macroeconomic indicators as \u201cpromising\u201d for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on to praise Aurangzeb and his team for arranging the Eurobond sale, which he said explained \u201cour hard work\u201d in volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The premier claimed that if the Middle East conflict had not erupted, Pakistan would have \u201ctaken off like other emerging economies\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also highlighted Islamabad\u2019s role as a mediator in the war between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow is the time, because of this Gulf crisis, new lessons have to be learnt,\u201d PM Shehbaz stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInvestors are now trying to evaluate and assess safer markets and Pakistan is a market where we can easily attract foreign investments, which are highly profitable, mutually beneficial, safe and secure,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prime minister expressed \u201chis happiness on his participation to open London Stock Exchange session\u201d and termed it a step towards \u201crebuilding their wonderful connection\u201d with LSE, PMO said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing the LSEG CEO, the premier said that they would like to seek his guidance and advice on how to further engage international financial markets to play a role in Pakistan, not just in terms of sovereign debt but through very attractive investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finance Minister Aurangzeb meets SCB CEO in London
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met Standard Chartered Bank\u2019s CEO Bill Winters in London on Tuesday, according to a statement by the finance ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aurangzeb \u201cappreciated SCB\u2019s continued support to Pakistan and its cooperation in various financing and capital market transactions\u201d, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministry said that the two discussed Pakistan\u2019s ongoing structural reforms and the latest macroeconomic developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also discussed future areas of collaboration, including \u201ctokenisation, international Sukuk and other financing opportunities\u201d, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSCB\u2019s strong investor network across Europe, the Middle East and Asia can play an important role in facilitating continued investor outreach and enhancing market visibility for Pakistan,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussions also included potential capital market transactions to support the privatisation programme of the government, covering opportunities on both the buy-side and sell-side, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali and Advisor to the Finance Minister Omer Khan were also present in the meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met with senior executives from leading global financial institutions in London and invited them to invest and expand their services in Pakistan. During a busy day in the UK capital, the premier held a series of meetings with top officials of Barclays, JP Morgan, Citi, BlackRock and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n