KARACHI: Habib Bank Limited (HBL) on Friday announced Rs26.44 billion as profit after tax for nine month period ended September 30, 2021.
The profit after tax of the bank was Rs24.98 billion in the same period of the last year.
The earning per share of the bank was at Rs18.03 for the nine months period ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs17.03 EPS.
Total income of the bank during January – September 2021 fell to Rs112 billion as compared with Rs113 billion n the same period of the last year.
Net markup income of the bank fell to Rs90.01 billion during the period under review as compared with Rs92.96 billion in the same period of the last year. Non markup income increased to Rs22.02 billion as compared with Rs20 billion.
Operating expenses were at Rs62.04 billion as compared with Rs62.77 billion.
Provisioning and write-offs fell to Rs3.9 billion during January – September 2021 as compared with Rs7.28 billion in the same period of the last year.
On a quarterly basis the bank declared a decline of 11.11 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.
According to financial statement, the bank recorded Rs8.96 billion as net profit for the quarter July – September 2021 as compared with Rs10.08 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.
Total income of HBL recorded 6.33 per cent decline to Rs40.40 billion for the quarter under review as compared with Rs43.13 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
Net Markup Income of the bank posted a decline of 9.6 per cent to Rs32.28 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs35.71 in the same quarter of the last year.
However, non-markup income registered a growth of 9.29 per cent to Rs8.11 billion as compared with Rs7.42 billion.
Operating expenses of the bank grew to Rs23.161 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs22.612 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
Similarly, the provisioning and write-offs fell to Rs1.75 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs3.04 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
The earning per share for the quarter fell to Rs6.17 as compared with Rs6.85.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that cadastral mapping will help in development of an authentic land record database.
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Housing, Construction & Development to review the progress made on existing and new projects.
While receiving a briefing from Surveyor General of Pakistan Maj. Gen. Shahid Pervez, the Prime Minister remarked that Cadastral Mapping would help in development of an authentic land record database. It would help in clearly identifying demarcation of land and thereby eliminate illegal encroachments, added the prime minister.
Moreover, the authentic database would also contribute towards enhancing revenues received from lands, the prime minister said.
The Prime Minister further said: “Land-use changes need to be checked where green vegetation areas are being converted to urban projects.” He advised all the provincial and Azad and Jmmu and Kashmir governments to expedite legislation to put a stop to land-use changes.
The Prime Minister stated that protection of green spaces and agricultural lands is essential for environmental considerations and to safeguard food security. However, construction projects would be allowed under regulations.
The NCC meeting was briefed that, under Phase-I of the mapping exercise, 90 per cent digitization of State Lands has been completed in Punjab, 96 per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 50 per cent in Balochistan.
Chairman CDA informed that with the help of Cadastral Maps, CDA has started imposition of fines on encroachers and the amount collected is being used for compensation of general masses who were defrauded by illegal housing societies.
The NCC meeting was attended by Federal Minister Fawad Ahmed, Minister of State Farrukh Habib, SAPM Dr. Shehbaz Gill, SAPM Malik Amin Aslam, Minister Local Govt. Punjab Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, MNA Aftab Siddiqui, Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing & Development Authority Lt. Gen. (R) Anwar Ali Haider, Chairman FBR, Surveyor General of Pakistan, and senior officers. Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and AJ&K; and ACS Khyber Pakhtunkhwa joined the meeting via video link.
Earlier the Prime Minister also chaired a meeting to review progress on Ravi Urban Development Project and Central Business District Lahore.
The Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to expedite progress as these projects are very important for attracting Foreign Direct Investment in the Country.Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan and Chief Secretary Gilgit Baltistan also joined the NCC meeting via video link.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday assured the World Bank of taking measures to reform the power sector in the country with special focus on reducing circular debt.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin held a meeting today with Axel van Trotsenburg, Managing Director World Bank and the Bank’s Pakistan team at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC.
Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Ambassador, Dr. Murtaza Syed, Deputy Governor SBP and Mr. Naveed Kamran Baloch, Alternate Executive Director, World Bank were also present.
Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Mohammad Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister for Energy joined the meeting virtually from Islamabad, says a press release received here from Washington DC.
The finance minister appreciated the Bank’s support to Pakistan over the decades and acknowledged the continuing support being extended to Pakistan.
He highlighted the measures taken by the Government to accelerate completion of projects funded by the Bank which were in the pipeline, with special focus on agriculture, housing and construction sectors.
The finance minister assured that the Government was also keen to reform the power sector in the country with special focus on reducing circular debt.
The finance minister reiterated that the government is fully committed to implementing structural reforms, protecting social spending and boosting social safety nets in order to protect the vulnerable segments of the society.
Minister for Energy Hamad Azhar shared the measures being taken by the Government to reform the power sector and rationalize power sector subsidies.
MD Axel van Trotsenburg informed the delegation on the importance that the Bank places on cooperation with Pakistan and said that the Bank was looking forward to continuing the bilateral cooperation in the future.
He said that the Bank was partnering with Pakistan in implementing one of the largest programme by the Bank for Pakistan and acknowledged that a lot of progress has been made on implementation of structural reforms in various sectors.
MD Axel van Trotsenburg also conveyed gratitude and appreciation for the Government’s assistance in the timely and efficient transiting of the Bank’s staff from Kabul.
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday said that trade discount if any to be given by a retailer has to be depicted on the invoice horizontally i.e. from left to right
The FBR on August 9, 2021 issued SRO 1006(I)/2021 and specified standardized format for sales tax invoice detailing minimum requirement for the integrated point of sale (POS) system.
The definition of trade discount as mentioned in the value of supply in sub-section (46) of Section 2 the Sales Tax Act, 1990 is meant for Business to Business transactions and does not cover retail sector and the business to consumer transaction.
The FBR said it had received various representations from the taxpayers and Bar Councils seeking clarification of the term ‘trade discount’ as stated in sub-section (46) of Section 2 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 whether the term also covers ‘cash discount’ given by retailers to end consumers, for the purpose of depiction in the standardized Sales Tax invoice under SRO 1006(1)/2021 dated 09.08.2021.
The matter has been examined by the Board, it is clarified that the discount if any to be given by a retailer has to be depicted on the invoice horizontally i.e. from left to right.
The captions such as total, sales tax paid, discount allowed appearing at the bottom of the invoice are standalone notations and do not necessarily add or subtract one another.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
