Karachi, December 7, 2023: Meezan Bank, the vanguard of Islamic banking in Pakistan, has entered into a formalized partnership with Befiler, heralding a new era in the provision of tax facilitation services for freelancers.
(more…)Tag: Meezan Bank
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Meezan Bank leads Rs1 bn finance for solar project
KARACHI: Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank and Burj Solar Energy Private Limited (BSEPL) are pleased to announce the financial close of Rs1 billion syndicated Islamic finance facility for BSEPL’s portfolio of renewable distributed power generation in Pakistan.
The first tranche of PKR 580 million will be used to finance the construction of 7 MW solar power plant for Power Cement Limited on Karachi Hyderabad Motorway. Meezan Bank led the transaction as the Mandated Lead Arranger and Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited participated as the Co-Arranger. The transaction structure is based on State Bank of Pakistan’s Islamic Financing Facility for Renewable Energy (IFRE) and a commercial facility.
READ MORE: Meezan Bank, SNGPL sign deal for digital bill collection
The solar power plant will be rented to Power Cement Limited under a twenty-year equipment rental agreement and the solar energy generated will be used by the company’s cement plant in Nooriabad. It will generate 220 GWh solar units for twenty years and in addition to reducing cost of electricity, will offset 112,000 tons of CO2 GHG emissions. The project is expected to start generation in July, 2022.Legal counsel for the financiers were Mohsin Tayebaly & Co. while Kabraji & Talibuddin Advocates and Legal Counsels acted as BSEPL’s legal counsel. Orient Energy Systems (Private) Limited is the turnkey EPC contractor for the project.
READ MORE: Meezan Bank provides bill discounting facility for Huawei
Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank, while commenting on theoccasion said, “Meezan Bank is committed to actively support and pursue green energy initiatives. Meezan has played a key role the financing of several renewable energy projects aggregating to 380 MW, as Lead or Co-lead manager and also participated in the debt syndications of two large hydro-electric projects being set-up by the Government of Pakistan – Neelum Jhelum and Dasu.
“Burj Energy is an excellent initiative that will facilitate distributed affordable solar initiatives corporates, small and medium enterprises as well as the individual consumers.”
He said the Meezan has also implemented a number of green initiatives by installing solar at 59 branches and 140Kw solar at its Head Office. Its new regional office building in Islamabad is also being designed to be Platinum Lead certified.
READ MORE: Meezan Bank lends Rs1 billion under youth scheme
Saad Zaman, Chairman of BSEPL and Burj Energy International Management Limited UAE, said, “I am very pleased that we have successfully reached the financial close of the 7 MW solar farm for Power Cement Limited. This is one more success for our company and a significant moment for development of hybrid renewable energy projects in Pakistan. This successful financial close reflects the ongoing interest and trust of leading financial institutions in the Pakistani renewables’ market and Burj Group.”
READ MORE: Meezan Bank announces 26% growth in annual profit
Kashif Habib Chief Executive Officer Power Cement Limited, said: ‘Our future is dependent on green, sustainable and renewable source of energy. By installing this 7 MW solar farm, we are taking the first step towards our hybrid solar& wind energy project. We shall keep playing our part in making our production process more environment-friendly and positively impactful for the eco-system we live in. It is high time that we look towards other viable energy options that are clean and green.
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Supernet awarded Shariah screening certificate
KARACHI: Supernet Limited, a subsidiary of Telecard Limited has been awarded Shariah Screening Certificate by Meezan Bank Limited, based on the review of consolidated financial statements of SNL, certifying its compliance with KSE Meezan Islamic Index Criteria set out by Pakistan Stock Exchange.
READ MORE: Supernet set to raise Rs475 million through initial offering
This was announced in a notice by Telecard sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday.
According to Meezan Bank letter, Meezan Bank Limited, in the capacity of Banker to the book building, reviewed the Consolidated Audited Financial Statements of Supernet Limited based on June 30, 2021 which are in compliance with KSE Meezan Islamic Index Criteria set out by Pakistan Stock Exchange.
READ MORE: Supernet wins ZTBL projects worth Rs450 million
On the basis of reviewed financial statements, it is allowed to participate in initial offering of Supernet Limited with the provision that the investee will be required to purify is dividend income as per company’s annual dividend purification rate determined on semi-annual basis in KMI- All Share Islamic Index.
This is pertinent to highlight that the Shariah compliance status of the company’s financial statements may vary from one financial period to the other. So, this certificate shall remain valid as long as company’s latest available financial statements are for the period ended June 30.
READ MORE: Supernet, Avara awarded project for supply, maintenance
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Meezan Bank provides bill discounting facility for Huawei
KARACHI: Meezan Bank has successfully instituted an Islamic alternate to Inland Bill Discounting Facility for Huawei Technologies Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited – a first-of-its-kind transaction in Islamic banking industry, developed as a Shariah-compliant alternate to local bill discounting facility.
READ MORE: Meezan Bank lends Rs1 billion under youth scheme
The first drawdown under the facility was made against a deferred payment inland Letter of Credit (LC) opened by Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (Ufone) in favour of Huawei. The transaction has been developed by the Bank under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani – Vice Chairman Shariah Board, Meezan Bank, after a series of deliberations and persistent efforts.
READ MORE: Meezan Bank announces 26% growth in annual profit
On this occasion, Abdullah Ahmed – Group Head, Corporate & Institutional Banking, Meezan Bank stated: “Meezan Bank is pleased to offer yet another milestone solution for the Islamic banking industry i.e., a Shariah-compliant alternative to discounting of long tenor inland bills with provision of variable profit rates. We are hopeful that this solution will serve as a precedent for unique transactions pertaining to trade within telecom industry.”
READ MORE: Meezan Bank, Suzuki Motors sign MoU for car financing
Ahmed Ali Siddiqui – Group Head, Shariah Compliance, Meezan Bank, stated, “This endeavour of Meezan Bank displays its capability to develop out-of-the-box, innovative and Shariah-compliant solutions and reinforces its position as the leading Islamic bank of the country. We hope this solution will open a new chapter in facilitating trade among businesses and industries in a Shariah-compliant way and bring more businesses and trade into fold of Islamic banking.”
READ MORE: Meezan Bank starts Islamic financing scheme for SMEs
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Bank Alfalah tops in house financing under MPMG
KARACHI: Bank Alfalah has secured the top position in house financing under the government’s flagship Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG).
According to a statement issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Bank Alfalah secured the top position followed by Meezan Bank Limited and Standard Chartered Bank Limited.
A ceremony was held on Friday at Prime Minister House, Islamabad to mark Rs 100 billion in home finance approvals of the Governments flagship Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) program under the theme “ Khawab ke tabeer ab tez ter”.
READ MORE: Financing for Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar gains momentum
The Prime Minister lauded the leading role of the State Bank of Pakistan and the efforts of the banking industry in the implementation of MPMG. He also witnessed ceremonial keys being handed over to six beneficiaries of MPMG who were from different regions and represented a variety of segments of Pakistan.
Over 20 other beneficiaries of MPMG also participated in the ceremony. The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure to see that low and middle-income citizens who were completely ignored earlier are now being served by the banks in obtaining home finance. While distributing awards among top-performing banks with respect to approvals and disbursements, he urged banks to accelerate their efforts to help realize the dream of every Pakistani to own their own homes.
The ceremony was attended by Ali Amin Gandhapur-Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit Baltistan, Dr. Shahbaz Gill-Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication, Senator Shaukuat Tareen-Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Chairman NAPHDA, Dr. Amjad Ali-Minister for Housing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Presidents/CEOs of banks.
READ MORE: SBP launches webpage for promoting house financing
Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, shared the progress of MPMG since inception, highlighting that all stakeholders are taking steps in the right direction to translate the Prime Minister’s vision of increasing homeownership into reality. Till December 20, 2021, banks have received applications of Rs. 263 billion while approvals of Rs. 109 billion have already been made. Over the last nine months, the approved amount increased by Rs. 98 billion. Disbursement has also increased from almost zero in March 2021 to Rs. 32 billion by December 20, 2021. While shedding light on the theme of the event, he mentioned that during the last month, banks on average approved Rs. 4 billion and disbursed Rs. 1.6 billion on weekly basis. He underscored the need to maintain and accelerate this momentum. There are six banks that disbursed over Rs. 2 billion each and seven banks have disbursed over Rs. 1 billion each in the span of 9 months under MPMG.
The Governor said that growth in MPMG is attributed to various measures taken by the Government, SBP, and NAPHDA to provide a conducive environment for the banking industry to enter the untapped market of housing and construction finance. He mentioned the simplification of complex procedures, a significant reduction in documentation requirement, development of a model to assess informal income, effective redressal mechanism as examples of this support. Communication initiatives like Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Meri Kahani –a series of testimonials of MPMG beneficiaries have also been instrumental in encouraging others to apply.
READ MORE: PM launches house financing scheme for NRPs
Earlier, in a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction, and Development (NCCHCD), Governor SBP apprised the Prime Minister on developments in housing and construction finance. He recalled that in July 2020, in line with the Government’s vision of boosting economic activity, SBP mandated banks to increase their housing and construction finance to at least 5 percent of their domestic private sector advances by December 31, 2021. Five banks have already achieved their December 2021 targets. The best performing banks in this regard were Albaraka Bank followed by Meezan Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank. He highlighted that as of December 17, 2021, banks have lent Rs. 321 billion which is Rs. 173 billion more than their financing as of June 30, 2020, reflecting a growth of 117 percent since June 2020. He praised Bank Al Habib, National Bank, and Bank Alfalah for a significant increase in their housing and construction finance portfolio since June 2020 till date.
In conclusion, Governor Baqir expressed SBPs confidence that the banking industry will continue to pace up its performance rapidly to meet the objectives of Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar and to reach targets mandated for Housing and Construction Finance.
READ MORE: Meezan Bank becomes pioneer in Sharia financing for low cost housing
The MPMG event also witnessed speeches from Senator Shaukat Tareen, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue, and Lt Gen Anwar Ali Hyder, Chairman NAPHDA. The Finance Adviser reiterated the Government commitment to MPMG and assured banks to provide all needed support. Chairman NAPHA requested banks to demonstrate commitment in providing housing finance to individuals in NAPHDAs LDA City and Peri Urban projects.
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Engro Enfrashare signs Rs4.5 billion Islamic financing
KARACHI: Engro Enfrashare, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Engro Corporation, has entered into an Islamic syndicate arrangement amounting to Rs4.5 billion, led by Meezan Bank and Faysal Bank, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.
The proceeds raised through this Islamic syndication would be utilized to finance the development of tower sites for various mobile network operators (MNOs) operating in Pakistan.
As per terms of the financing arrangement, the tenor of the financing will be seven years, including a grace period of two years. The syndicate includes Meezan Bank Limited, Faysal Bank Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Islamic Bank and Allied Islamic Bank.
Last month, Engro had announced to enhance its total equity investment in the Telecom Infrastructure Vertical to Rs21.5 billion. The Telecom Infrastructure vertical was setup in 2019 to accelerate the development of connectivity infrastructure in Pakistan, thereby providing an opportunity for the people to be part of the new digital era.
Engro Enfrashare is engaged in the acquisition and construction of shared telecom towers, provision of various telecommunication infrastructure and related services, including state-of-the-art network monitoring solutions.
Since its inception, the Company has now established strong relationships with all MNOs active in Pakistan and is working closely with them to develop build-to-suit (B2S) sites across the country to serve their coverage and capacity requirements.
According to Ghias Khan, President & CEO Engro Corporation: “Engro is committed to expanding its footprint in the Telecom Infrastructure vertical to power Pakistan’s progress in the digital era. With the support of banking partners like Meezan Bank, Engro Enfrashare will continue to work towards its purpose of making connectivity more accessible and affordable for everyone.”
Irfan Siddiqui, Founding President & CEO, Meezan Bank, added that digitization would be a major element driving business success in the era we are entering into.
Meezan Bank being not only the country’s leading Islamic Bank but also the Best Bank in Pakistan, not only understands the significance of telecom infrastructure but also encourages companies to build strong telecom infrastructure that would support their digitization initiatives and enable them to deliver a better customer experience.
A signing ceremony of the agreement was signed at the Head Office of Engro Corporation, in the presence of Ghias Khan (President & CEO, Engro Corporation), Mazhar Hasnani (Chief Financial Officer, Engro Corporation), Faisal Sattar (CEO, Engro Enfrashare), Irfan Siddiqui (President & CEO, Meezan Bank), Ariful Islam (Deputy CEO of Meezan Bank), Yousaf Hussain (President & CEO, Faysal Bank) and other senior representatives of both institutions.
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Meezan Bank, Retailo sign agreement to finance youth
KARACHI: Meezan Bank has signed a partnership with Retailo, the fastest-growing B2B startup in the MENAP region.
The partnership is aimed at providing deserving retailers Kamyab Jawan financing in a Shariah-compliant manner to expand and support their small businesses.
The MoU was signed by Group Head Consumer Finance Meezan Bank, Arshad Majeed, and Wahaj Ahmed, Retailo’s co-founder along with their teams.
This financing is sourced from Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan’s ‘Kamyab Jawan – Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES)’ which is targeting young entrepreneurs and existing businesses. It will provide subsidized financing through 21 Commercial, Islamic, and SME banks under the guidance and supervision of the State Bank of Pakistan.
Through this scheme, the Government of Pakistan aims to increase the contribution of aspiring entrepreneurs to the economy and remove obstacles from their path of progress by providing financial backing.
This partnership between Meezan and Retailo will provide much-needed Shariah-compliant financial support to empower small business enterprises and unlock their full earning potential.
As Retailo expands its operations, it is looking for more opportunities to help retailers achieve their full potential. Regarding the partnership with Meezan Bank, Retailo’s co-founder Mr. Wahaj Ahmed said, “The retail sector has vast potential to improve Pakistan’s economy. Through Retailo’s high-powered app and simplified supply chains, we are aiming to play a key role in national progress. By partnering with Meezan Bank to provide retailers with the much-needed support, we wish to make a difference in their lives on a more personal level.”
Commenting on the occasion, Arshad Majeed, Meezan Bank’s Group Head Consumer Finance said, “Meezan Bank is always ready to fulfill its role as the bank of choice and create real value for our customers. Providing growth capital to the retail sector and SMEs will create an equitable economic system and elevate livelihoods for a sector that has tremendous untapped potential.”
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Meezan Bank, NCCPL sign MoU to develop Shariah compliant products for capital market
KARACHI: Meezan Bank and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) have agreed to develop new Shariah-compliant products for the country’s capital market.
Through this collaboration, Meezan Bank will extend its support in introducing Murabaha Share Financing System (‘MSF’), a new Shariah-compliant product, implemented by NCCPL, will help in extending Shariah-compliant stock financing facilities to stock brokers and their customers.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO – Meezan Bank and Muhammad Lukman, CEO – NCCPL at a ceremony held at Meezan Bank Head Office, Karachi. Also present at the occasion were Mohammad Asif, GM – Head of Operations and Sajid Sikander – Manager Product Development from NCCPL; and Muhammad Raza – Group Head Customer Support, Ayub Baig – Manager Capital Markets and Hasan Faraz – Manager Product Development from Meezan Bank.
Under this agreement, both organizations will work to enhance the proportion of Islamic products in Pakistan’s capital markets and develop new Shariah-compliant financial instruments. Meezan Bank is also the first bank in the country to be inducted in MSF System, a Shariah-compliant product of NCCPL, as a Non Broker Clearing Member for the purpose of extending Shariah-compliant financing to the Stock Brokers and their customers in Pakistan.
Commenting on this occasion, Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO of Meezan Bank, said: “Islamic capital markets form an integral part of the country’s Islamic financial system and offer great potential for product innovation to suit the needs of the customers. Through this collaboration, Meezan Bank aims to overcome the challenges associated with new product development for this sector, while also encouraging growth in both the markets as well as economic investment.”
“This collaboration will pave way for introducing new and innovative Shariah-compliant products in capital markets,” said Mr. Muhammad Lukman, CEO – NCCPL on the occasion.
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Meezan Bank Sharia Board approves issuance of Ijara Sukuk
KARACHI: Meezan Bank’s Shariah Board, In its 51st Shariah Board meeting, approved Shariah structure for issuance of new Government of Pakistan (GoP) Ijarah Sukuks.
The 51st Shariah Board meeting of Meezan Bank at Dar ul Uloom, Korangi, Karachi. The meeting was chaired by Justice (Retd.) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani – Chairman Shariah Supervisory Board, Meezan Bank and was attended by Dr. Imran Ashraf Usmani – Vice Chairman Shariah Supervisory Board, Mufti Naveed Alam – Resident Shariah Board Member as well as the Bank’s senior management including Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Ahmed Ali Siddiqui – Group Head Shariah Compliance and other key officials. Sheikh Esam Mohamed Ishaq – Shariah Supervisory Board Member attended the meeting via video call.
The Shariah Board reviewed several key issues including transaction structure for the issuance of new GoP Ijarah Sukuk in detail. Justice (Retd.) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani – Chairman Shariah Supervisory Board approved the proposed Sukuk structure and showed his comfort and appreciation for the recent efforts made by the Government of Pakistan in the issuance of Sukuks and promotion of Islamic Banking in the country.
The Shariah Board also approved the product of Meezan Islamic Charge Card, an innovative product offering the customers convenience and flexibility and upon the use of which customers can avail various benefits and discounts.
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Agha Steel to install 2.25MW solar power project
KARACHI: Agha Steel Industries has signed a contract with Renewable Power Pvt. Ltd. for installing a 2.25 Megawatt solar power project at its production facility located at Port Qasim Karachi, a statement said on Wednesday.
Meezan Bank Ltd is the banking partner for this transaction. This would be among one of the largest solar power projects installed by a steel manufacturer in Pakistan.
According to a statement this project will initiate a Green Steel Revolution at Agha Steel Industries by helping in sustainability of its energy mix and at the same time reducing the burden on national grid. The 2.25 Megawatt solar power project would also reduce the carbon emission by 46,000 tons in a lifespan of 20 years.
This solar power plant, being installed on the self-consumption basis, will produce around 3.3 million units of clean and renewable electricity every year, which will result in a significant drop in the carbon footprint of Agha Steel Industries. The company is currently undergoing an expansion to increase its rebar capacity to 650,000 from current 250,000 tons per.