ITFC to arrange more trade financing for Pakistan

September 13, 2021

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Federal Minister for Economy Omar Ayub Khan and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation – ITFC CEO Hani Salem Sonbol met today in a virtual meeting to discuss the amount of ITFC funding. The meeting discussed about how ITFC can finance broader commercial activities in Pakistan through commodity financing.

The Economy Minister expressed his gratitude to the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (TIFC), which provided approximately $ 7 billion to finance oil and liquefied natural gas imports between 2008 and 2021. It was highlighted that Pakistan’s need for funding is much higher and therefore ITFC may provide larger share of funding than current funding of $ 1.5 billion a year. It also looked at how this funding can be used to import food products.

Sonbol thanked the minister for his appreciation to the EAD as it is interested in the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to meet short-term trade finance needs. It was also recommended to include commodities in addition to POL under the Fourth Framework Agreement, which begins in early January 2021, and to increase annual funding from $ 1.1 billion to $ 1.5 billion. He added that in 2019, ITFC organized two resource finance workshops in Islamabad and Karachi in collaboration with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and the National Bank of Pakistan – and is providing technical assistance for capacity building in the agricultural sector.

The ITFC CEO announced that the current syndication is nearing completion and that Pakistan will receive $ 600 million this month. ITFC also stressed that Pakistan is the company’s top priority for investing in trade finance and meeting the country’s sourcing requirements.