Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Pakistan turns to its expats for a $10bn bailout to avoid bankruptcy...

The government is urgently seeking $10 billion from its diaspora to avoid defaulting on its debts that are dragging the country towards insolvency.

Pakistan's newly-appointed financial chief, Shaukat Tareen, who is in Washington on a mission to persuade international groups to stump up billions of dollars to bolster Pakistan's fast depleting foreign reserves, has said that a fund will be set up for expatriate investors to buy stocks.

"We are looking at creating a fund for non-resident Pakistanis to consist of government stocks," said Mr Tareen. "The values are very good so we want to create a bouquet to offer to non-resident Pakistanis this month."

Pakistanis working overseas sent a record $6.45 billion home in the year ended June 30. There are about three million Pakistanis living overseas, mostly in the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, according to the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation in Islamabad.

Pakistan is facing multiple crises as the country's security forces battle pro-Taliban militants in the tribal areas near the Afghan border and its financial indicators have plummeted. More...

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