The company said that for the second consecutive year since its approval as a manufacturer for the supply of Coca-Cola branded Freezers, Waves Singer Pakistan has secured the largest corporate order from Coca-Cola.
For fiscal year 2022, WSPL has received order for supply of 25,000 units of chest coolers and visi coolers worth around Rs1.44 billion.
Last year, the company obtained orders for 22,850 units of chest coolers and visi coolers worth Rs944 million from Coca- Cola after approval of the factory consequent to detailed audits.
Waves Singer Pakistan Limited has become a merged company with the acquisition of Cool Industries (Pvt) Limited by Singer Pakistan during 2017. After the approval of the Scheme of Merger by Sindh High Court, the combined company has acquired the name of Waves Singer Pakistan Limited.
Singer’s history dates back to 1850, when Isaac Merritt Singer manufactured the first ever sewing machine in Boston, USA. I. M Singer & Company was duly incorporated during the same year.
The name of the company was changed to Singer Manufacturing Company during 1853 when the factory of the Company was also relocated to New York, USA. Singer established its presence in the Indian sub-continent during 1877.
Over the years, and after the independence of Pakistan, Singer continued its business of sewing machines in the country, but also started dealing in domestic consumer appliances, besides manufacturing and assembling light engineering products. In 1985, the Company became a public listed company.
Singer Pakistan’s retail network has 140 shops in Pakistan alone, and covers every small town and metropolitan city of the country. Under the Singer brand, the Company produces a variety of consumer appliances-including refrigerators, air conditioners, LED TVs, washing machines, microwave ovens, in addition to its more traditional offerings of sewing machines, water heaters and gas ovens etc.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Pakistan has declared a substantial 84% increase in the valuation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for the purpose of sales tax collection.
The prices will remain unchanged from November 16, 2021, till the end of the month: Petrol Rs145.82 per liter; High-Speed Diesel (HSD) Rs142.62 per liter; Kerosene Oil Rs116.53 per liter; and Light Diesel Oil Rs114.07 per liter.
A statement issued by the Finance Division said that despite rising petroleum products prices globally, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has kindly rejected the proposal for enhancement in the prices and desired that the prices of petroleum products from November 16, 2021, shall remain the same as notified on November 04, 2021, for providing maximum relief to the general public.
The decision has been taken in the public interest. The government will bear the burden by making adjustments in the sales tax rates, etc.
Muzzammil Aslam, spokesman to the finance minister in a Tweet said: “History has been made today. In today’s petrol prices the Sales Tax is effective zero per cent.”
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday launched an end-to-end digital regulatory approval process known as the Regulatory Approval System (RAS).
The central bank now achieved another milestone by launching a module pertaining to banking policy and regulations.
With the launch of this module in RAS, banks, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Microfinance Banks (MFBs) can now submit their request letters/ proposals on a dedicated online portal to SBP’s Banking Policy and Regulations Department whereby SBP, after digitally processing them, would also be in a position to disseminate the regulatory decisions to them through the same portal.
Earlier in October 2020, Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir had launched the SBP FX RAS for end-to-end digitization of Foreign Exchange (FX) related case submission process.
The system turned out to be a huge success as it enabled the customers to lodge their FX-related requests from the location of their convenience thereby sparing their valuable time previously spent in navigating the paper-based processes. It also enabled banks to submit FX-related cases electronically for regulatory approval of SBP and SBP-Banking Services Corporation (BSC).
Implementation of RAS for Banking Policy and Regulation-related issues will be effective from November 24, 2021. It will enable banks, DFIs and MFBs to digitally submit their requests and receive regulatory decisions through a single window. Nevertheless, in addition to online submission, banks, DFIs and MFBs shall also continue with the manual submission of their cases that will cease after a brief transitory period till December 31, 2021.
Implementation of SBP’s RAS is expected to conserve precious resources, contribute towards SBP’s Green Banking initiative and bring efficiency in the communication between the banking sector and SBP. Moreover, this arrangement will also replace paper-based submissions that are prone to logistic and storage issues, and cause inadvertent and unnecessary delays for relevant stakeholders.
RAS is a regulatory initiative under SBP’s Vision 2020 aiming at the digital flow of information amongst the stakeholders to improve the service standards through leveraging upon digital techniques.
The SBP decided to increase the average (CRR), to be maintained during a period of two weeks by scheduled banks, from 5 percent to 6 percent and minimum CRR to be maintained each day from 3 percent to 4 percent.
CRR is the amount of money that banks are required to keep with State Bank of Pakistan and is applicable on demand liabilities and time liabilities with tenor of less than a year.
Time liabilities with tenor of more than one year shall continue to be exempted from maintenance of cash reserves.
With the economy recovering briskly from last year’s acute Covid shock, there is a need to gradually normalize policy settings, including the growth of monetary aggregates.
In recent months, real money supply growth has drifted above its trend. Today’s measure will moderate this growth as well as domestic demand, thereby helping to sustain the current economic recovery, achieve the government’s medium-term inflation target, and reduce pressures on the Pak Rupee (PKR).
In addition, this measure is likely to have positive impact on deposit mobilization as the banks would be encouraged to generate more deposits to cope with additional liquidity requirements for their operations.
This would incentivize banks to offer better returns on deposits to attract these funds; thus serving the SBP objective of encouraging savings.
It may also be highlighted that waiver of CRR on Time liabilities with tenor more than a year will encourage banks to raise more long-term deposits, which will facilitate asset-liability matching and enable banks to extend long term loans for construction and housing financing.
President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld two different decisions of the Banking Mohtasib (BM) ordering Al Baraka Bank Ltd (ABBL) and Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) to pay Rs9.145 million to Mrs. Zahida Naseem and Rs 5 million to Mushtaq Ahmed Bajwa, respectively, who had been swindled out of their money by the management of the banks.
The President rejected the appeals of both the banks against the decisions of the Banking Mohtasib.
He regretted that the victims of fraud, including an Overseas Pakistani, suffered a lot at the hands of the banks’ management and no relief was provided to them.
He urged the public to avail the services of the Banking Mohtasib to seek relief in fraud cases as well as against the maladministration of bank officials/officers.
According to details of both the cases, Mrs Zahida Naseem (complainant) opened her PKR Account on 03-03-2017 and British Pound Sterling on 28-03-2017 with Al Baraka Bank, at DHA Branch, Lahore. She applied for Term Deposit for an amount of Rs 10.7 million for one year after signing her cheque and TDR Application Form.
The then Branch Manager, Omer Ikram, provided her fake and fabricated Account Statement and TDR Certificates on bank’s Letter Head.
However, in July, she came to know that the given account statement and TDR certificates were fake and fabricated.
The Bank Manger had fraudulently used her cheque and requested for Real Time Gross Settlement instead of TDR. It was later revealed that Ikram had allegedly committed fraud of huge amount of Rs 125 million and was an expert in making and providing tampered and fake bank statements to his clients.
This was admitted by the bank which had cancelled the policies of clients and had refunded money to respective accounts in different cases. In this case, an amount of Rs 9 million was transferred to the bank account of Mr Ikram’s personal driver.
Mrs. Naseem requested ABBL to credit the lost funds to her account but without any result. Subsequently, she approached the Banking Mohtasib for the redressal of her grievance.
In a similar case, Mushtaq Ahmed Bajwa (complainant), an Overseas Pakistani living in Holland, was maintaining a PLS Saving Account with Habib Bank Ltd’s branch in Faisalabad.
He handed over cash of Rs 5 million to the then branch manager, Akhtar Hussain, on 14-04-2017.
Hussain filled in the deposit slip, and after signing and stamping it, handed over the counterfoil to the complainant. Later on, his brother informed him in Holland that an internal fraud had been perpetrated and funds deposited by several depositors had been embezzled by the ex-Branch Manager.
The manager had deceitfully mentioned some imaginary cheque numbers on his deposit slip instead of cash amount personally handed over to him.
Further, the bank lodged an FIR with FIA Faisalabad against the main accused and his accomplices. The bank did not pay Bajwa his claim despite acknowledging his complaint, after which, the complainant approached the Banking Mohtasib to seek justice.
The Banking Mohtasib investigated both the cases and, after perusal of facts, ordered that the complainants may be refunded their lost money by the respective banks.
Wafaqi Mohtasib held that the complainants had entrusted their hard earned money to the concerned banks and it was fiduciary duty of the banks to protect their customers.
It noted that the appointment of vigilant bank officials, honest and professional staff was the responsibility of the bank and not of the complainants.
The Ombudsman noted that the bank officials had been duly posted by the management of the banks and they were performing the employer’s business, when the complainants had suffered financial losses due to the unethical and fraudulent activities of the authorized bank officers.
The bank cannot escape the liability in such cases when the commission of fraud with the accountholder by its management is established and admitted, the BM held.
The Mohtasib ordered that both the banks were responsible to make good the loss of the complainants without further delay. Subsequently, the banks filed separate appeals against the decisions of the BM.
President Dr Arif Alvi upheld both the decisions of the Mohtasib on the grounds that banks were given ample opportunity by the Mohtasib to defend and controvert the claims of the complainants, however, banks had failed to discharge the burden and statutory liability cast upon them under the law.
“No justification has been made to upset the order of the learned Banking Mohtasib”, the President wrote while rejecting the representations of the banks.
The US dollar climbed to a record high against the Pakistani Rupee (PKR), touching Rs175.73 in interbank trading on Friday. This unprecedented surge marks the rupee’s weakest performance, as escalating import payments continue to exert pressure on the local currency.
Currency experts noted a significant depreciation of the rupee by Rs1.54, ending the day at Rs175.73 against the previous day’s close of Rs174.19. This new record surpasses the previous all-time low of Rs175.27, recorded on October 26, 2021.
The rupee had experienced a temporary rally following its last record low in October 2021, buoyed by a financial pledge from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government committed to transferring $3 billion directly to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on the same day the last lowest rate was recorded. This support had offered a brief reprieve to the weakening currency.
However, the relief was short-lived as the demand for dollars continued to rise, primarily driven by a significant increase in import bills. Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reveals that the import bill soared by 65.15 percent to $25.06 billion during the period from July to October 2021, compared to $15.17 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year. This stark increase in imports reflects a growing economic challenge for Pakistan, fueling further demand for the US dollar.
The rising dollar has been a source of concern for Pakistan’s economy, which is grappling with multiple financial pressures including higher import costs and international debt obligations. These factors combine to stress the PKR, making imports more expensive and inflation harder to control.
Market analysts predict that if the trend of high import bills continues without corresponding increases in exports or external financial support, the PKR could face further devaluation. Economists suggest that Pakistan needs to enhance its export capabilities and seek more sustainable financial inflows to stabilize the currency.
As the government and financial authorities ponder over solutions to mitigate this economic challenge, the business community and consumers are bracing for potential impacts on pricing and cost of living due to the depreciating local currency.
The situation underscores the importance of comprehensive economic strategies that balance import needs with export growth, effective utilization of foreign aid, and stabilization measures by the central bank to ensure economic stability in the face of fluctuating global currency markets.
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday has taken major decision to ban removal of sugar bags from factory premises without affixation of tax stamp.
The condition has been imposed to implement track and trace system for monitoring of production and supply of the commodity for the crushing season 2021-2022.
In order to implement the decision the FBR issued Sales Tax General Order (STGO) No. 05 on November 11, 2021. “No sugar bags shall be allowed to be removed from a production site, factor premises or manufacturing plant without affixation of tax stamps/Unique Identification Marking (UIMs) with effect from November 11, 2021, which are to be obtained/procured from FBR’s Licensee M/s. AJCL/MITAS/Authentix Consortium,” it said.
The purpose of imposing the condition is to launch electronic monitoring of the commodity as the sugar crushing for the season 2021-2022 is about to start.
Sources in the FBR said that the track and trace system was not fully installed at sugar mills. There are still few sugar mills that were in process to install the electronic monitoring system.
In the meantime, the FBR may also deploy tax officials at the sugar mills by invoking Section 40 B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 for parallel monitoring.
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia will disburse cash deposits to Pakistan under assistance package pledged on October 26, 2021, Saudi diplomat said on Thursday.
While talking to the Pakistan’s state media Saudi Ambassador Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki said Saudi Arabia will disburse cash deposits under the pledged financial assistance after approval of the Royal Court and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a few days.
“This will be soon InshaAllah. There will be the agreement from the Royal Court and the MoU will be signed in a few days for the payment, and also for the deferred oil payment [facility],” the Saudi envoy said in an exclusive interview with APP, during his visit to the headquarters.
Saudi Arabia had recently announced to provide Pakistan $3 billion as a cash deposit with the State Bank to address its balance-of-payments crisis. Also, the Kingdom had pledged a one-year deferred payment facility for the import of oil, worth up to another $1.2 billion.
Ambassador Al-Malki said the government of Saudi Arabia considered Pakistan as “a dear country” with a very deep and strong relationship.
He said Saudia Arabia always stood with Pakistan and extended support to it on multiple occasions, adding that the relationship with Pakistan was regardless of any government in power.
“Our connection is with the Pakistani flag and we consider it our brotherly country,” he said, adding that he saw a “very bright future of Pakistan”.
The Saudi ambassador mentioned the camaraderie between the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Prime Minister Imran Khan and expressed confidence that the relationship would strengthen in the future.
In three years, the six visits of PM Imran Khan to the Kingdom reflect the level of relationship, he added.
The Saudi envoy said Pakistani people loved the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the core of their hearts and held in high esteem the Custodian of the holy mosques.
