Govt will borrow from banks on its terms: Aurangzeb

In an apparent message to local banks, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said the government will now “borrow at its terms”. In his virtual address to an interactive session on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Tuesday, Mr Aurangzeb said the government wanted to “send a clear message that it is not desperate to borrow”. Even if the government needs to borrow, it will do so “at its terms”, the minister said, citing examples of the government rejecting bids for T-Bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds to borrow at a cheaper rate in the next auction. Mr Aurangzeb said the time has arrived for banks to start lending to the private sector.