KARACHI: The government on Wednesday raised a cumulative Rs1.22 trillion through auctions of Treasury Bills (T-bills) and Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs).

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the government received bids of Rs1,730bn for T-bills and Rs1,592bn for PIBs, indicating that the investors were willing to park over Rs3.3tr collectively in the risk-free government securities.

The government raised Rs965bn against the T-bill auction target of Rs850bn while the maturing amount was Rs821bn.

These staggering bids also reflect the banks’ inability to extend loans to the private sector, as advances kept declining from the peak in Dec 2024. The investment in unproductive government papers dims growth possibilities in the private sector.

The cut-off yields showed no change except for one-month T-bills, which decreased 6bps to 12.32pc. The returns on three-, six- and 12-month papers remained unchanged at 12.01pc, 11.99pc and 12.01pc.

The bids for PIBs reached Rs1,592bn, but the government borrowed just Rs261bn against the auction target of Rs400bn.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2025