Pakistan seeks US Exim financing for PIA aircraft and Reko Diq
Pakistan is exploring financing from the US Export-Import Bank for Boeing aircraft for the privatised Pakistan International Airlines, refinery modernisation and the Reko Diq copper and gold project in Balochistan, according to Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The discussions matter for Pakistan because they would tie fleet renewal, refinery upgrades and one of the country's largest mining investments to a US export credit agency rather than to sovereign borrowing.
The talks followed Aurangzeb's meeting with US Exim Bank chairman John Jovanovich in New York. According to the Finance Ministry, the minister highlighted PIA's interest in acquiring Boeing 787 Dreamliners and requested assistance in arranging financing for aircraft and engines, as well as support in obtaining spare parts needed to return grounded Boeing 777 aircraft to service.
Schehzad said the government was facilitating PIA's access to international financing, aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, but was not purchasing aircraft for the airline or arranging taxpayer-funded loans. He said US Exim's role was to promote US exports and employment by providing financing support to overseas buyers of American-made products, including commercial aircraft, and that financing could potentially be secured against the aircraft, with the airline's or lessee's financial strength assessed as part of the process. On that basis, he said, a sovereign guarantee would not necessarily be required.
PIA was privatised after an Arif Habib-led consortium acquired a 75 per cent stake for Rs135 billion in an auction held on 23 December 2025. The transaction documents were signed on 29 January 2026, and management control was transferred to the consortium after the first financial closing on 29 June. The consortium committed Rs180 billion in total, comprising Rs55 billion payable to the government and Rs125 billion in fresh investment in the airline.
Schehzad said the discussions with US Exim extended beyond PIA and formed part of broader Pakistan-US economic cooperation covering aviation, refinery development and Reko Diq. He rejected characterisations of the potential financing as a public loan, a hidden subsidy or a state-backed arrangement, saying no sovereign guarantee or government borrowing for PIA had been announced.
