ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development (ADB) on Wednesday approved technical financing for preparation of financial markets development programme.

The ADB-led reforms will help remove constraints in the way of achieving a vibrant capital market in the country such as ad-hoc government debt management practices, absence of a clear capital market development strategy for debt issuance, shallow and illiquid corporate bond and equity markets, ineffective market facilitation and fragile market stability.

The bank’s assistance will also help the government explore measures required to encourage broader participation of institutional investors in Pakistan’s securities markets and lay groundwork for introducing alternative financing instruments, such as derivatives.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2019