KARACHI : The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has structured five highways as assets in order to raise funds in the near future through government Ijarah Sukuks.
In this regard, the government will soon hold an auction with competitive bidding to identify potential investors.
According to the details, the National Highway Authority operates the highways, which include the following:
- Makran Coastal Highway, N-10: Ormara (27,905 Kanal & 18 Marla)
- Makran Coastal Highway, N-10: Gawadar & Jiwani (17,042 Kanal & 10 Marla)
- Grand Trunk Road, N-5: Peshawar & Nowshera (6,172 Kanal & 15 Marla)
- Indus Highway Project, N-55: Peshawar, Kohat, Lachi, Banda, Daud Shah, Karak, Domair, Bannu, Norang, Lakki Marwat, D.I Khan (11,361 Kanal & 11 Marla)
- Indus Highway Project, N-55: Peshawar, Kohat, Karak, Takht Nasrali, Naurang, Bannu, Parova (12,604 Kanal & 04 Marla)
Furthermore, the State Bank will conduct bidding based on the criteria defined for bidders. In this regard, the following provisions have been outlined:
- Non-competitive bidders may also submit bids for the Sukuk.
- The Investors will sign the Sukuk Subscription Undertaking (SSU)Â to document their pledges to subscribe to the Sukuk issued by Pakistan Domestic Sukuk Company Limited (PDSCL).
- The Investors may designate PDSCL as their Investment Agent under the SSU to buy assets on their behalf and for the purposes specified in the Sukuk Issuance Undertaking.
- After the reopening of Sukuk, new assets and/or extra shares in the current asset(s) may dilute or modify their share and create their share in the new or additional assets.
In recent years, the government has focused on issuing Sukuk to raise finances, which is more cost-effective than other bonds with low-profit rates.
