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ISLAMABAD: Inspection Commission constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, in its first phase initiated proceedings against 50 individuals and entities nominated in the Pandora Papers.
The proceeding is likely to expand in due course, said a press release on Thursday.
The process will be concluded strictly in accordance with law and whenever necessary, enforcement powers would be invoked directly or through concerned law enforcement agencies.
The Prime Minister Inspection Commission (PMIC) has commenced its proceedings regarding the Pandora Papers, the process for collection of information and data is underway.
Since initial disclosure regarding offshore companies and trusts were made by ICIJ and its partner journalists, information and assistance is being sought from the said sources.
The purpose of ongoing proceedings is to identify cases which may potentially involve any breach of law especially by present or past holders of public office.
The task also includes referral of cases to the relevant authorities for necessary action from tax evasion or money laundering aspects.
In order to maintain objectivity and fairness, the opportunity of representation in person or through written communication would be provided to the individuals who on the basis of available data are required to clarify their offshore ventures.
PMIC would welcome information from the public and encourage whistle-blowers to come forward for disclosure in the interest of transparency.
Facebook at its annual developer conference announced to change the name to Meta. The company said it would better “encompass” what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality.
According to BBC, the company, which announced the change at its annual developer conference, said it would better “encompass” what the firm now does. It also revealed plans for a metaverse – an online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.
The name change follows a series of negative stories about Facebook, based on documents leaked by an ex-employee.
“The metaverse is the next frontier,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a presentation at Facebook’s Connect conference, held virtually on Thursday. “From now on, we’re going to be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.”
Facebook’s name change is the most definitive signal so far of the company’s intention to stake its future on a new computing platform — the metaverse, an idea born in the imaginations of sci-fi novelists, according to Bloomberg.
In Facebook’s vision, people will congregate and communicate by entering virtual environments, whether they’re talking with colleagues in a boardroom or hanging out with friends in far-flung corners of the world.
The bank declared Rs9.91 billion as profit after tax during January – September 2021 as compared with Rs11.91 billion in the corresponding period of the last year.
The earnings per share of the bank also declined to Rs2.56 for the period under review as compared with Rs3.08 in the same period of the last year.
SCBL in its financial statement said that despite uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, the bank delivered a resilient financial performance with a profit before tax of Rs18.4 billion compared to Rs19.9 billion in the corresponding period last year.
The revenue of the bank fell to Rs26.56 billion during first nine months of the calendar year as compared with Rs32.07 billion in the corresponding months of the last year. The bank said that the revenue was lower by Rs5.5billion primarily due to sharp reduction in interest rates in second quarter of 2020, subdued economic activity and market volatility which impacted foreign exchange income, revaluation income on derivatives and gain on sale of securities.
Administrative costs continue to be well managed through operational efficiencies and disciplined spending with an increase of one per cent compared to same period last year.
Moreover, strong recoveries of bad debts, coupled with lower impairments as a result o a prudent risk approach led to a net release of Rs0.8 billion in year to date September 2021 compared to charge of Rs3.2 billion in the comparative period.
The bank said that all businesses have positive momentum with strong growth in underlying drivers. “This is evident from pickup in net advances, which have grown by 26 per cent since the start of this year. This was a result of targeted strategy to build profitable, high quality and sustainable portfolios,” it added.
On the liabilities side, the bank’s total deposits grew by Rs40 billion, whereas current and saving accounts grew by Rs41 billion since the start of this year and comprise 93 per cent of deposit base.
The foreign exchange reserves of the country declined to $23.934 billion by the week ended October 22, 2021, as compared with $24.327 billion a week ago.
The foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank fell by $345 million to $17.147 billion by the week ended October 22, 2021 as compared with $17.492 billion by the week ended October 15, 2021.
The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks have also come down by $48 million to $6.787 billion by the week ended October 22, 2021, as compared with $6.835 billion a week ago.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will give cash rewards to law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for recovery and confiscation of smuggled or non-duty paid goods under Customs laws.
According to the draft amendment, the FBR proposed to include in reward rules the “officers and officials of other law enforcement agencies who assist Customs officers and officials or are actually instrumental in the seizure of smuggled goods and vehicles as confirmed by the respective collectorate of customs, for their meritorious conduct in such cases only after realization of part or whole of the duty and taxes involved in such cases.”
At present, the eligibility for reward stated that cash reward shall be sanctioned under the rules to the following categories of persons in cases involving evasion of duty and other taxes, and confiscation of goods, namely:
(a) officers and officials of Pakistan Customs Service for their contribution in such cases; and
(b) informer providing credible information leading to such confiscation or detection, as the case may be.
As per SRO 1386(I)/2012 dated November 26, 2021, the determination of reward has been explained as the amount of reward, in cases involving evasion of duty and other taxes, and confiscation of goods shall be determined in the following manner:
01. Where the amount of customs duty and other taxes realized is Rs500,000 or less, the amount of reward shall be 20 per cent of the customs duty and other taxes.
02. Where the amount of customs duty and other taxes realized is more than Rs500,000 but not more than Rs1,000,000, the amount of reward shall be Rs100,000 plus 10 per cent of the customs duty and other taxes in excess of Rs500,000.
03. Where the amount of customs duty and other taxes realized is over Rs1,000,000, the amount of reward shall be Rs150,000 plus 5 per cent of the customs duty and other taxes in excess of Rs1,000,000.
KARACHI: K-Electric Limited (KE), the power generating and supply company, on Thursday announced massive 161 per cent growth in net profit for quarter ended September 30, 2021, mainly surge in revenue in the shape of tariff adjustment.
The profit after tax of the KE grew by 161 per cent to Rs2.9 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs1.11 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
The company announced Rs0.11 as earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter under review as compared with Rs0.04.
The revenue of KE exhibited sharp growth of 33 per cent to Rs114.14 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs85.55 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
The sales of energy grew by 27 per cent to Rs86.92 billion for the quarter under review as compared with Rs68.40 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
In the head of tariff adjustment, the revenue of the company recorded 58.72 per cent increase to Rs27.22 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs17.15 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
Cost of sale grew by 36 per cent to Rs97.49 billion as against Rs71.68 billion.
Operating expenses of KE recorded a significant increase to Rs1.81 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs338 million in the same quarter of the last year.
KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on Thursday announced a massive jump in its quarterly net profit by over 120 per cent for the period ended September 30, 2021.
According to consolidated results, the profit of the company surged to Rs11.53 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, as compared with Rs5.22 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
PSO announced Rs24.93 as earning per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs11.07 in the same quarter of the last year.
The company in its board of management meeting held on October 28, 2021 approved the results and recommended no dividend for the period.
The company posted a gross profit of Rs 22.1 billion with gross margins set at 4.80 per cent in the first quarter of 2021/2022 compared to gross profit of Rs 11.5 billion (4.09 per cent gross margins) in the prior year.
Analysts view noteworthy changes in ex-refinery prices that resulted in inventory gains of around Rs 7 billion in 1QFY22 compared to inventory gains of Rs 1.5 billion in same period last year.
Other operating income decreased by 87 per cent QoQ to Rs 1,786 million in 1QFY22. We believe, absence of Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) resulted in decline in other income.
Meanwhile, finance costs nosedived by 92 per cent QoQ and 27 per cent YoY to Rs 626mn which is owing to lower reliance on short term borrowings and lower interest rates, we view.
The company recorded effective taxation at 32.6 per cent in 1QFY22 compared to 33.0 per cent in 1QFY21.
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines, the national flag carrier, on Wednesday declared a loss of Rs42.72 billion during the first nine months (January – September) of 2021.
The losses of the national flag carrier were over Rs40 billion in the same period of the last year.
The board of directors of PIA in its meeting on October 27, 2021, approved the financial results for the period ended September 30, 2021.
The board has not approved any cash dividend, bonus shares, or right shares for the period.
The revenue of the airline significantly declined to Rs49.36 billion during January – September 2021 as compared with Rs74.36 billion in the same period of the last year.
On account of aircraft fuel, the airline has spent Rs13.44 billion during the period under review as compared with Rs18.08 billion in the corresponding period of the last year.
Administrative expenses of PIA reduced to Rs3.97 billion during the first nine months of the current year as compared with Rs4.53 billion in the same period of the last year.
The exchange losses of the company were at Rs5.18 billion for the period under review as compared with Rs7.57 billion.
The rupee made an all-time low of Rs175.27 on October 26, 2021 due to external payment pressure.
Currency experts said that the foreign currency market had witnessed positive sentiments throughout the day.
Saudi Arabia day before yesterday announced additional support of $3 billion to Pakistan for building its foreign exchange reserves. The additional financial support is besides a $1.2 billion dollars deferred oil facility to Pakistan to help its balance of payment issues, an official statement said.
KARACHI: Housing and construction loan disbursement by banks has reached Rs305 billion by the end of September 2021, which was Rs166 billion at the end of September last year, showing an increase of Rs139 billion and a year-on-year growth of 84 per cent, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Wednesday.
The banks have also received applications worth Rs200 billion for low-cost housing financing under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) scheme.
The SBP said that as per the latest numbers of October 18, 2021, banks have received applications of more than Rs200 billion. The banks have approved financing of Rs78 billion out of which Rs18 billion have already been disbursed.
SBP Governor Dr. Reza Baqir appreciated the progress made by the banking industry in supporting low-cost housing finance for first time homeowners under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar.
At the same time, the Governor stressed the need to accelerate the pace of approvals by banks to match the requests for financing to ensure that people are not discouraged by the processing time. He expressed the hope that with the combined efforts of all stakeholders, the dream of Pakistanis to have their own homes can become a reality.
While appreciating the efforts to date, Governor Baqir also asked stakeholders to increase the outreach of the Government’s Markup Subsidy Scheme for Housing Finance commonly known as Mera Pakistan MeraGhar (MPMG) to the wider public. He said that when the journey of MPMG started last year, low-cost housing finance was almost non-existent as commercial banks rarely ventured in this area fearing its inherent risks.
However, the strong commitment of the government especially NAPHDA, SBP, banks, and other stakeholders to promote housing and construction activities in the country is beginning to result in a considerable increase in finance for housing and construction.
To augment this effort the SBP provided an enabling regulatory environment to promote housing & construction finance.
In July 2020, State Bank of Pakistan advised commercial banks to increase their lending for housing and construction sectors to at least 5 percent of their private domestic sector advances by December 2021.
To assist in this, the State Bank advised quarterly targets to each bank after individual consultation, leading to the concerted effort. The focus on this segment increased and for the quarter ending September 30, 2021, banks have achieved 94 percent of their assigned targets on a consolidated basis. During July-September 2021, banks increased their credit to the housing and construction sector by Rs48 billion from Rs257 billion as of June 30, 2021.
An increase in credit to the housing and construction sector reflects that banks have realigned their internal policy dimension/ strategic focus towards the development of housing and construction. The banks have, in recent months, revamped their systems and procedures, upgraded and streamlined technological platforms, and motivated their banking staff through incentives and training.
The banks have also established a joint call center to address queries of the general public regarding MPMG which was recently inaugurated by the Governor SBP. The general public can reach the call center at 0-33-77-786-786. This call center will help resolve complaints and assist common persons who would like to borrow under MPMG but face difficulties in completing the requirements of banks. Earlier, State Bank launched a user-friendly online complaint resolution mechanism in January 2021. The complaint resolution mechanism comprises an IT-based portal supported by a comprehensive network of State Bank and commercial bank staff to take care of problems faced by applicants and resolves complaints within a predefined timeline with proper escalation mechanism.
Some of the other steps taken by SBP in collaboration with NAPHDA, other government agencies, banks and stakeholders include a simplified loan application, standard facility offer letter, amendment in the prudential framework, development of standard risk assessment criteria for builders/developers, development of income proxy model and streamlined financing documents.
