The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at US$ 9,815.9 million as of 24-Mar-2023. The break-up of the foreign reserves position is as under:

• Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan: US$ 4,244.3 million
• Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks    : US$ 5,571.6 million
• Total liquid foreign reserves                 : US$ 9,815.9 million

During the week ended on 24-Mar-2023, SBP’s reserves decreased by US$ 354 million to US$ 4,244.3 million due to external debt repayment.… Continue

Bank Alfalah, a leading commercial Bank in Pakistan and SAWiE, a digital platform offering smart farm advisory services to smallholder farmers, signed an MoU to promote climate-smart agriculture practices within Pakistan. Under this MoU, SAWiE will leverage its systems to combine geospatial data with machine learning and AI applications to provide sustainable solutions to farmers.… Continue

SBP’s next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting will be held on the 4th of April, 2023.

In order to gauge the view on monetary policy outlook, Topline Research polled key market participants on expectations over policy rate and key macro estimates.… Continue

Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank and PaySa, a fintech startup specializing in digital payments, have partnered to enable Point of Sale (POS) payment services to tap into the country’s booming digital payment ecosystem. According to this agreement, PaySa will deploy POS terminals and grow the Bank’s merchant and retailer network as an independent sales organization.… Continue

NdcTech, a premium technology services firm transforming banks and financial institutions globally has successfully modernized the core banking system of Samba Bank onto the latest release of Temenos Transact. Samba Bank Limited is a subsidiary of Saudi National Bank (SNB) KSA in Pakistan, offering personal and corporate banking services, including current and savings accounts, loans investments and a host of digital services.… Continue

Bank Alfalah, one of the leading commercial banks in Pakistan, has announced Instant Credit Card (ICC). Instant Credit Cards offer a completely automated digital application journey that allows both liability and existing credit card customers to apply for a credit card, complete the screening and credit bureau checks, and receive approval in less than five (5) minutes.… Continue

Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL) has launched Pakistan’s First Sustainable Trade Export LC Programme. SCBPL is supporting Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) export cotton sourced through the world’s leading cotton sustainability certification programme, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). With Standard Chartered’s focus on helping companies accelerate to net-zero and closing funding gaps for sustainable and green finance in emerging markets, SCBPL was the bank of choice for LDC, given LDC’s own commitment to work towards a safe and sustainable future in Pakistan.… Continue

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at US$ 10,139.2 million as of 17-Mar-2023. The break-up of the foreign reserves position is as under:

• Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan: US$ 4,598.7 million
• Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks    : US$ 5,540.5 million
• Total liquid foreign reserves                 : US$ 10,139.2 million

During the week ended on 17-Mar-2023, SBP received US$ 500 million as GoP commercial loan disbursement.… Continue

During the ensuing holy month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak 1444 AH, the following office hours will be observed in the State Bank of Pakistan, which will also be followed by all banks, development finance institutions and microfinance banks:-

Monday to Thursday from 09:00 am to 03:30 pm with a prayer break from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm, whereas on Fridays, office hours will be from 08.30 am to 1:00 pm without a break.… Continue

Bank ABC, one of MENA’s leading international banks, has signed agreements with Temenos and NdcTech to replace its core banking systems for its retail, corporate and wholesale businesses and power its subsidiary, ila Bank, the MENA region’s fast growing digital mobile-only bank, with Temenos’ core banking platform on the Cloud.… Continue

Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic Bank and one of the largest banks in the country has been recognized as the global winner of ‘Best Islamic Retail Bank’ for 2022, by Islamic Finance News (IFN) of REDmoney Group, Malaysia. The Bank has also achieved a clean sweep of all the six Pakistan-level titles awarded by IFN.… Continue

The State Bank of Pakistan will remain closed for public dealing on Friday, March 24, 2023, which shall be observed as a ‘Bank Holiday’ for deduction of Zakat since 1st of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, 1444 A.H. is likely to fall on Thursday, March 23, 2023 (already being a public holiday).… Continue

As per the latest data compiled by SBP in Feb’23, the current account recorded a deficit of USD74mn as compared to USD230mn in Jan’23, signifying an improvement of 68%MoM (USD156mn), while on a yearly basis, CAD fell by 14%YoY. During 8MFY23, the current account deficit was reduced by 68%YoY to USD3,861mn as compared to USD12,077mn in 8MFY22.… Continue

HABIBMETRO BANK, held a grand event in celebration of International Women’s Day on March 13, 2023, at Area 51, Karachi. The event, which was themed “Embrace Women, Embrace Equity,” aimed to empower and showcase the talent and potential of women in all aspects of life.… Continue

Aktkar Fuiou Technologies (AFT) has signed an agreement with Mastercard marking its commitment to participate in the Mastercard Community Pass Program.  Digitt+, Pakistan’s first regulated agri-fintech company, powered by AFT, intends to connect untapped agricultural markets with digital payment solutions and become the first entity to launch Mastercard Commerce Pass in Pakistan.… Continue

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at US$ 9,846.8 million as of 10-Mar-2023. The break-up of the foreign reserves position is as under:

1. Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan: US$ 4,319.1 million
2. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks    : US$ 5,527.7 million
3. Total liquid foreign reserves                 : US$ 9,846.8 million

During the week ended on 10-Mar-2023, SBP’s reserves increased by US$ 18 million to US$ 4,319.1 million.… Continue

TPL Corp CEO Mr Ali Jameel met with Finland’s Ambassador to Pakistan to strengthen business relations between the two countries. The meeting, which took place at Avari Towers Karachi, is a significant step towards driving industries in Pakistan. With a dedicated contact person of Finland Pakistan Business Council (FPBC) at the Karachi headquarters, TPL Corp, a leading conglomerate in Pakistan with diverse interests in technology, insurance, fund management and real estate, is committed and well-positioned to support Finnish companies looking to establish their presence here.… Continue

Karandaaz Pakistan arranged a webinar on 15th March, 2023 to launch its latest study on The State of Business Taxation in Pakistan – Challenges for SMEs. The report provides detailed analysis on the hurdles Pakistani SMEs face when attempting to become tax-compliant, the rules that govern taxation in the country and recommends ways responsible authorities can streamline taxation policy while establishing efficient processes for collection to establish a more optimal tax regime.… Continue

TPL Life Insurance Limited, Pakistan’s 1st InsurTech enterprise in the innovative insurance business, has launched the country’s most revolutionary Virtual Life Insurance Agent Learning & Earning Platform – “Muavin.”

A means for every Pakistani to create an alternate or regular income stream by selling TPL Life’s insurance products.… Continue

Pakistan: Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic Bank, has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fieldfisher Capital LLP (FFC) – a multi-disciplinary advisory service, under which both parties will collaborate to provide Shariah advisory services to international clients including, but not limited, to Europe and the Middle East.… Continue

Pak-Qatar Takaful is awarded the 12th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Award in the category of Business Practices at the awards ceremony at the local hotel in Karachi. On behalf of Pak-Qatar Group, the award was received by Mr Saqib Zeeshan, Deputy CEO Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited.… Continue

Bank Alfalah’s e-commerce platform, AlfaMall, has partnered with Muller and Phipps (M&P) to enhance customer product delivery services. Through the partnership, AlfaMall will develop a one-stop shop for customers to find thousands of products at competitive prices at the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) feature.… Continue

EFU General was recognised by the Insurance Association of Pakistan with an award for the Company’s relentless effort and devotion in executing the IAP House Project. The award was received by Mr Hasanali Abdullah, Managing Director & Chief Executive of EFU General, from Chairman IAP Mr Azfar.… Continue

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at US$ 9,754.0 million as of 03-Mar-2023. The break-up of the foreign reserves position is as under:

• Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan: US$ 4,301.0 million
• Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks    : US$ 5,453.0 million
• Total liquid foreign reserves                 : US$ 9,754.0 million

During the week ended on 03-Mar-2023, SBP’s reserves increased by US$ 487 million to US$ 4,301.0 million due to the receipt of US$ 500 million as a GoP commercial loan from China.… Continue

TPL Insurance Limited – Window Takaful Operations (WTO), one of the leading insurance providers in Pakistan, has partnered with Takaful Bazaar, an upcoming Takaful digital platform, to offer shariah-compliant services to customers. The partnership aims to promote and offer Shariah Compliant products and smooth the customer handling journey via technology enablement.… Continue