KARACHI – The Bulls took firm control of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a substantial gain of 1,112 points. The KSE-100 index closed at 44,334 points, significantly higher than the previous day’s close of 43,222 points, reflecting renewed investor confidence and improved sentiment.
(more…)Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz
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SBP issues coin to mark 70-year Pak-Germany relations
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday said that in order to mark the occasion of 70th anniversary of Pakistan-Germany Diplomatic relations, the Government of Pakistan has decided to issue a commemorative coin of even denomination, i.e. Rs.70.
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Exchange rates in PKR vs foreign currencies on Oct 14
KARACHI, October 14, 2021 – Following are the latest exchange rates of various foreign currencies against the Pakistani Rupee (PKR), offering a real-time snapshot of the foreign exchange market.
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Regulations needed for used mobile phones’ accessories
KARACHI: Additional Inspector General Imran Yaqub Minhas has stressed that the sale of second-hand mobile phones accessories has to be brought into a regulatory framework.
It would help in dealing with the most serious issue of rising street crimes as the accessories and spare parts of all the snatched phones were being disposed of by selling them in the local markets, he added.
“The street crimes would only reduce when a regulatory framework for sale of second-hand mobile phones’ spare parts is in place otherwise it would remain a challenge and we may reach at the verge of disaster in terms of street crimes,” he added while exchanging views at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Karachi Police Chief, while terming the social media as a ‘menace and a curse’, stated that a huge portion of the content revolving in the social media was based on unauthenticated reporting which was playing with public’s nerves hence, it also needs to be regulated.
“I appeal the business community of Karachi Chamber to raise a strong voice for regulating all the social media sites and apps”, he said, adding that the social media sites which build the perception about Karachi and Pakistan must be brought into a legal framework.
He admitted that robberies were taking place in Defense area where three gangs were operational, of which one gang has been nabbed and its coordinators have also been identified.
“Serious efforts were underway and strategies have been adopted to control crime hence, the situation in DHA is likely to improve in the next few days,” he added.
To drastically improve the law & order situation of Karachi, AIG stressed the need for an effective surveillance system in the city otherwise the crimes will never stop.
“Enhancing the number of police officers would not yield results so we have to adopt scientific and technological practices being used all around the world for effectively controlling street crimes,” he added.
He said that due to lack of proper planning, the city is collapsing and it was a matter of grave that there was no expansion plan for Karachi which has been missing since many decades. The city is turning into an ocean of concrete with undocumented and uncontrolled population. The city has to be reframed in a planned way otherwise it will become prey to its own serious issues, he added.
He said: “We are facing another serious challenge within the department i.e., criminalization of police force and we are fighting really hard with that challenge which is not less than confronting the ocean’s waves.”
Imran Minhas also assured to look into the possibility of nominating a focal person exclusively for Karachi Chamber.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, while expressing deep concerns over deteriorating law and order situation of Karachi city, pointed out that in addition to infinite incidents of street crimes taking places all over the city, 26 robberies happened in Defense area alone whereas 17.5 percent rise was witnessed in murder cases, car snatching escalated by 67 percent, gang rape incidents upsurged by 130 percent and 100 percent increase was recorded in murder while resisting a dacoity and bank robberies.
Urging the lawmakers to stop step-motherly treatment with Karachi, he stressed that the law & order situation of this city has to be given special attention and an effective strategy has to be devised on war footing otherwise, the situation would worsen further and the city will be plunged to a point of no return.
“Law & order issue was linked with poor economic performance as it has been observed that the economic and business activities were shrinking and joblessness was rising therefore, many people were landing up in the world of crime to fulfil their needs”, Zubair Motiwala opined while referring to US$4 billion deficit suffered by the country in the month of August.
“Despite contributing 68 percent revenue and 55 percent exports, the business community is compelled to continue their activities without security, gas and electricity and they have to face all the hindrances being created by civic agencies as well. In this scenario, running an industry in Karachi is not less than a Jihad”, he added.
Chairman BMG also appealed the Sindh Government to look into the possibility of raising pay packages of police officers to such an extent that they were able to easily overcome all their domestic expenditures and honestly discharge their duties without seeking bribe as under the present circumstances, it has become impossible for a police officer with four kids to handle his domestic expenses, hence he has no other choice but to seek bribe. “Penal action and regards are equally important to improve the law & order situation of Karachi. Those officers who perform really well must be promoted whereas the others who fail to deliver should be demoted and transferred to far flung areas of the province”, he added.
To deal with frequent traffic jam issue, he suggested that signal adherence must be strictly implemented and one-way violation should also not be tolerated at any cost while the youngsters must also not be allowed to ride bikes without a valid driving license.
Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani hoped that during the tenure of Imran Minhas, the law & order situation improves in Karachi which has deteriorated sharply nowadays particularly in District South and West. He suggested to compile a database of criminals in which date-wise records pertaining to arrests and bails of criminals must be maintained and publicized so that the honorable judges and everyone could see and analyze how many times these culprits had been apprehended and released on bail which would prove very fruitful.
General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil stated that it was a matter of concern that Karachi was the only city whose actual population has not been determined to date hence, in such a situation, it was impossible to evaluate the problems of this city, particularly the size of police force required for maintaining law and order situation of Karachi. “Rangers enjoys more powers and facilities as compared to police which needs to be strengthened, provided insurance facility and other perks, besides fully equipping them for efficiently dealing with criminals”, he added.
Earlier, President KCCI, in his welcome address, stated that the Karachi Chamber, being the premier and largest chamber, plays the role of a bridge between the law enforcing agencies and the business community so that the issues could be amicably and promptly resolved. He underscored the need to carry out effective policing all over Karachi where the population has risen to around 25 to 30 million whereas the law & order situation has been worsening day by day due to increase in street crimes, burglaries, thefts, motorcycle and vehicle snatching etc. which were widely being reported from almost all parts of the country.
PCLC Chief Hafeez Aziz requested AIG to nominate a DSP who must be tasked to look into and promptly resolve the issues being raised by KCCI.
The meeting was also attended by Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani, General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Former Presidents Saeed Shafiq, Majyd Aziz, Younus Muhammad Bashir, Shamim Ahmed Firpo, PCLC Chief Hafeez Aziz and others.
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Sugar mills agree to implement track, trace system
KARACHI: The sugar mills have agreed to allow the tax authorities to monitor the production and supply through track and trace system.
In this regard a tri-partite agreement was signed at Large Taxpayers Office (LTO), Karachi. The agreement was signed by the representatives of sugar mills, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the consortium AJCL/ Mittas/ Authentix for the implementation of Track & Trace System (TTS).
Shahid Iqbal Baloch, the Chief Commissioner, LTO, welcomed the representatives and oversaw the signing ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Commissioner highlighted the importance of the TTS.
He believed that launching of the TTS will be a great stride towards accelerating digitisation of economic activity, improving revenue forecasting and curbing counterfeit products in the market.
The Track and Trace Solution is to be rolled out in a multi-phasic manner across the Tobacco, Cement, Sugar and Fertilizer Sectors in Pakistan with a view to enhancing tax revenue, reducing counterfeiting and preventing the smuggling of illicit goods through the implementation of a robust, nationwide, electronic monitoring system of production volumes and by the affixation of more than 5 billion tax stamps on various products at the production stage, which will enable FBR to track the goods throughout the supply chain.
Tariq Hussain Shaikh, the Project Director, (Track & Trace System), FBR reiterated the importance of the project and called it a game changer for improving revenue and curbing counterfeit products in the market.
The meeting concluded with the handing over of the agreements by the Chief Commissioner to the representatives on behalf of FBR.
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Mobilink Bank awarded as best retail bank in Pakistan
Pakistan’s largest digital bank, Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) has won the prestigious Retail Banker International (RBI) Asia Trailblazer Award 2021 for being the ‘Best Retail Bank in Pakistan’, along with an honorable mention of “Highly Commended” for its House Loan in the Best Loan Offering category.
Organized in collaboration with Arena International, UK, Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), Dubai, and GlobalData (Singapore), the Annual RBI Asia Trailblazer Awards celebrate remarkable innovations and achievements in customer service in the financial and banking industry across the Asian continent.
For the 12thedition of the coveted awards this year, more than 300 submissions were received in various categories from 25 countries. The winners were announced in a virtual ceremony in view of the COVID-19 safety protocols.
Commenting on the achievement, Ghazanfar Azzam, President & CEO MMBL said: “The award comes as a testament to MMBL’s strong commitment to customer excellence. We always strive to improve the banking experience of our customers by offering customized digital products and services that enable and empower individual users and small and medium businesses in the country. The recognition has reinvigorated our resolve to further innovate, optimize and modernize our retail services to better facilitate our customers, and foster financial inclusion in the country.”
Muhammad Asim Anwar, Chief Business and Products Officer MMBL said: “We are committed to promoting digital financial inclusion through an enabling fintech ecosystem that serves everyone alike even in the remotest parts of Pakistan. We are humbled to be recognized in the Asian continent for being the best retail bank in the country and are proud of our diversified product portfolio, including the House Loan, which has beenhighly commended as the best loan offering in the region. This accolade is a significant achievement, especially as it dovetails with the government’s flagship initiative, Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.”
Retail Banker International (RBI) is an editorially independent briefing service that, over the last 36 years, has become an essential resource for C-suite executives from across the global retail banking and consumer finance ecosystem. RBI provides subscribers with vital coverage across the given key subject areas: product innovation, distribution channels, leadership strategy, regulation, and marketing. RBI’s recognition of MMBL’s retail services will further bolster the bank’s standing as one of the most preferred digital banks in the country.
MMBL, being the largest digital bank in Pakistan, serves millions of individual and small and medium businesses across the country through its vast digital financial ecosystem. The bank’s customized product range caters to the evolving financial needs of different socio-economic groups and businesses particularly across the rural stratum, thereby bringing millions of unbanked segments into the fold of financial inclusion.
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FPCCI criticizes restoring bank account freezing powers
KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday expressed serious reservations over restoration of powers to officers of Inland Revenue (IR) in freezing bank accounts without approval.
FPCCI President Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo recorded his strong reservations on the attachment of bank account under section 140 of the income tax ordinance, 2001 and section 48 of the sales tax act, 1990 and term new amendment as a hurdles to ease of doing business as envisioned by Prime Minister of Pakistan.
He stated that on the instructions of the Prime Minister the government machinery made an atmosphere among the taxpayers that unless the taxpayers are at ease to do their business without any fear of the tax officials, it is not possible to boost the collection of revenue.
However, it seems that the said atmosphere is again at its disturbance in the light of the Board’s letter dated 11-10-2021 wherein attachment of bank account is ordered to be made without informing tax the payers and implementation is ordered retrospectively on all recoveries.
President FPCCI said that the trade is facing a blow due to escalation of parity between the dollar and rupee and now comes the draconian steps being taken by the Board in the shape of instructions to forcefully recover the disputed taxes from the bank accounts of taxpayers.
Maggo further added that this is totally against the recent instructions to bar the tax machinery from taking money without prior intimation to the account holders and the fresh instructions would be a dent on the Finance Minister’s pro taxpayer posture. It is also not out of place to mention that the former Chairman FBR also against such steps of the Board to collect taxes forcefully and taken practical steps to stop such practices.
He also said that the tax machinery is almost at a failure to dig out new taxpayers instead it is bent upon on hand twisting methods against the existing taxpayers to collect so called revenue.
On the other hand if such practices are enforced it will pile up the litigation between the tax collectors and taxpayers and the courts are already at a burden due to such litigation.
The trade community feels that the hierarchy of the FBR is under pressure to meet their targets and to recover the disputed taxes by using their extra ordinary powers.
In recent months, the taxpayers have been complaining about the “highhandedness” by the FBR. The matter had also landed in the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that last week recommended the government to sack taxmen who made exaggerated tax demands and then rejected appeals of taxpayers under pressure from FBR headquarter.
Maggo registered a strong complaint on behalf of the Business Community against the orders passed by the FBR and urged to review its policy and collect the taxes under the trade friendly atmosphere.
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Rupee falls to new record low at Rs171.13 to dollar
KARACHI: Deterioration continued in Pak Rupee (PKR) against dollar on Wednesday as the local currency hit new record low at Rs171.13.
Previously, the rupee recorded the all-time low at Rs171.04 against the dollar a day ago on October 12, 2021 in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that the dollar demand for import payment was continuously depreciating the rupee value.
The import bill surged by 65 per cent to $18.63 billion during first quarter (July – September) of the current fiscal year as compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.
It is important to note that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during past couple of weeks took various measures to discourage outflow of dollars. However, these measures are unable to stop depreciation in rupee value.
The local currency remained under pressure since start of the current fiscal year. The local unit has lost Rs13.59 against the dollar from Rs157.54 on June 30, 2021 to Rs171.13 to date.
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Pakistan abolishes visa fee for Afghans
ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet in a meeting on Tuesday has approved the abolition of visa fees for Pakistani visas for Afghans coming into Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the meeting of the federal cabinet.
The cabinet approved the inclusion of Afghan businessmen in the list of Pakistan Business Visas for their convenience.
It also approved in principle a code of conduct for issuing Pakistani visas to Afghans. The regulation will issue all visas online and will minimize the duration of the administrative process for obtaining a visa.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Cabinet offered Fateha for late Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. The Cabinet was briefed on the progress regarding introduction of electronic voting machines (EVM) and empowerment of Overseas Pakistanis to vote.
The cabinet directed to celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi in a grand manner. The federal cabinet decided to have a look at the comparative prices of essential commodities in all its meetings.
The meeting approved the renewal of Charter License Class-II (Domestic) of M/s K2 AIRWAYS (Pvt.) Ltd. The Cabinet approved the issuance of Charter Licence Class-II (Domestic & International) for M/s AIR SIAL Ltd.
The Establishment Division briefed the Cabinet on the vacancies of CEOs and Managing Directors in various Ministries and state owned companies under their supervision. The Cabinet was informed that at present a total of 80 posts are vacant. Out of which 44 posts will be filled by following the due process, whereas posts in 18 institutions are being abolished. The Cabinet directed that the procedure of appointments should be completely transparent and merit-based.
The federal cabinet approved the reconstitution of PEMRA Council of Complaints Islamabad and approved the appointment of Syed Muhammad Ali Bukhari as its Chairman. The council will consist of 6 members, including three women members.
The Cabinet approved the establishment of a special riot police force to protect the lives and property of citizens of the federal capital Islamabad and to maintain law and order.
This decision has been taken keeping in view the increase in urban population of Islamabad, the sensitivity of the federal capital and the needs of police. The force will be equipped with the latest technology and equipment to help prevent crime. Force personnel will be trained according scientific standards.
The Cabinet approved the provision of Pakistan Online Visa facility for foreigners working on CPEC projects.
The Cabinet approved the criteria and regulations for admission on merit in government medical and dental colleges run by the federal government. Following this decision, 50 per cent marks will be given to the marks obtained in the entrance test and the remaining 50 per cent marks will be given to the marks obtained in the intermediate examinations.
The decisions taken at the meeting of the Economic Co-ordination Committee of the Cabinet on October 7, 2021 were partially ratified.
The Cabinet postponed the agenda of the decisions taken at the meeting of the Committee on Transport and Logistics on October 4, 2021. The Cabinet set up a sub-committee comprising Minister of Energy and Minister of Maritime Affairs to review the matter and re-submit it to the Cabinet.
The Cabinet approved the procedure for online verification of Power of Attorney documents for the convenience of overseas Pakistanis. The move will enable Pakistanis abroad to quickly verify legal documents, previously, it involved a lengthy waiting time.
The Cabinet approved the establishment of a Real Estate Regulatory Authority to regulate the sale and purchase of land under the Islamabad Real Estate (Regulations and Development) Act, 2020.
The Cabinet approved the establishment of Rehmat-ul-Ulameen Authority. The authority will include world-renowned Muslim scholars. The authority will conduct research on various aspects of Prophet’s life. The authority will propose a curriculum for the training of children in the light of teachings of Seerat-un-Nabi. The authority will also take steps to highlight true identity of Islam in the world. The authority will work to prevent the rise of sexual crimes, and will ensure tolerance in society.
The Cabinet appreciated and commended the Prime Minister’s initiative and reiterated the great commitment of all members of the Cabinet to participate in the promotion of this great cause.
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Exchange rates in PKR vs foreign currencies on Oct 12
KARACHI: Following are the exchange rates of foreign currencies in Pak Rupee (PKR) on October 12, 2021 (The rates are updated at 12:20 PM):
Currency Buying Selling Australian Dollar 123.50 125.00 Bahrain Dinar 386.75 388.50 Canadian Dollar 135.50 137.50 China Yuan 23.75 23.90 Danish Krone 23.45 23.75 Euro 196.00 198.00 Hong Kong Dollar 16.65 16.90 Indian Rupee 2.03 2.10 Japanese Yen 1.41 1.44 Kuwaiti Dinar 481.60 484.10 Malaysian Ringgit 36.45 36.80 New Zealand Dollar 96.35 97.05 Norwegians Krone 17.50 17.75 Omani Riyal 392.70 394.70 Qatari Riyal 39.80 40.40 Saudi Riyal 45.25 45.75 Singapore Dollar 123.50 125.00 Swedish Korona 18.30 18.55 Swiss Franc 159.80 160.70 Thai Bhat 4.80 4.90 U.A.E Dirham 46.50 47.10 UK Pound Sterling 232.00 234.50 US Dollar 170.80 172.80 Disclaimer: Team PKRevenue.com provides the available rates of the open market, which are subject to change every hour. Team PKRevenue.com provides the available exchange rates at the time of posting the story. So the team is not responsible for any inaccuracy of the data.