By Abdul Wajid Khan ISLAMABAD, June 16 (INP-WealthPK): The National Assembly has passed the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of Pakistan Bill, 2022, to complete the legal process to formally establish and operationalise the bank to promote international trade. According to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, a copy of which is available with WealthPK, the government has taken several initiatives to promote international trade, export-oriented industries and import substitution in the national economic interest. As part of its efforts to continue reforms and in line with the best international practices, the government is now seeking to establish the EXIM Bank of Pakistan as a national export credit agency to promote, expand and diversify international trade by providing credit, guaranteeing and insurance products as well as ancillary services to exporters and importers in the form of a statutory corporation that has the backing and support of the government as is customary for export credit agencies to achieve their desired potential and objectives. The authorised share capital of the bank shall be Rs100 billion, or such other amount as the federal government may, from time to time, specify by notification in the official gazette, and shall be divided into 10 billion shares of Rs10 each. The initial paid-up capital of the bank shall be Rs10 billion divided into one billion fully paid-up shares at par value, which shall be wholly subscribed by the federal government. According to a brief of the ministry of finance on the bill, the bank was declared development finance institution on June 9, 2015 and incorporated with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan under the Companies Ordinance, 1984. The bill focuses on the purpose of the bank related to development of trade, export support and import substitution. In doing so, the bill provides for and explains the powers of the bank to provide trade services, obtain reinsurance, open and operate bank accounts and take securities to secure itself, incorporate subsidiaries and related powers, which will support the key purpose of the bank. In 2018, on the request of the government of Pakistan, the Asian Development Bank approved a Technical Assistance (TA) grant of $500,000 to support operationalisation of EXIM Bank, and appointed Internal Financial Consulting Limited (IFCL), Canada, to provide deliverables under the subject TA. One of the very important components of the TA was to draft EXIM Bank of Pakistan Act, which gives necessary powers to the bank to deliver on its mandate by providing necessary financing and insurance products to the exporters of the country and promoting foreign direct investment. The government was planning to initiate commercial operation of the EXIM Bank in the first quarter of the calendar year 2022. EXIM Bank Chief Executive Officer Irfan Bukhari had recently told a parliamentary panel that the management was targeting to initiate commercial operation of the bank in the first quarter of 2022, which was subject to passage of the legislation from the parliament and issuance of ‘Letter of Commencement of Operations’ by the State Bank of Pakistan. The bank has been designated as the official Export Credit Agency of the country to be formed through the Act of Parliament. It is pertinent to mention here that the government has also allocated Rs4 billion in the federal budget 2022-23 for the paid-up capital for the EXIM Bank.