KARACHI, April 05, 2022 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the official exchange rates for customers on Tuesday, April 05, 2022.
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Meta, NIBAF collaborate to train women entrepreneurs
KARACHI: Meta is collaborating with the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), a subsidiary of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to train and up-skill Pakistani women entrepreneurs in order to foster sustainability and resilience of women-led businesses in the country, a statement said on Friday.
The program is being implemented under the ‘Business Resilience through Financial Education (BRFE)’ component of Meta’s flagship women empowerment program ‘SheMeansBusiness’. SheMeansBusiness was introduced in Pakistan in May 2020 in partnership with the SBP and USAID to bolster financial inclusion and resiliency of women-led businesses, particularly during the Covid-19 induced economic slowdown.
Under the arrangement, Meta, in collaboration with National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF), will be hosting a series of online training sessions to up-skill 3,000 women entrepreneurs who are part of NIBAF’s National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y).
The primary aim of the program is to strengthen women’s business financial understanding and help them grow their businesses for enhancing their socioeconomic standing and role in the society. NFLP-Y program focuses on managing personal finances and has a wide reach within Pakistan.
“Financial empowerment is one of the key drivers of women empowerment. NIBAF is excited to collaborate with META to strengthen the financial literacy and digital skills of Pakistani women. We hope that this partnership will help our women craft their own entrepreneurship journeys”, says Riaz Nazarali Chunara, Managing Director NIBAF.
“We are excited to collaborate with NIBAF to foster financial education and training for Pakistan women entrepreneurs”, Beth Ann Lim, Director, APAC Policy Programs and Government Outreach – Meta said. “Financial education is crucial for sustainability and resilience of small and medium enterprises, especially when combined with digital skills. Over the last 2 years we’ve found that entrepreneurs that have adopted digital tools have been more resilient, financial education would further enable them to adapt and grow their businesses. I hope this arrangement goes on to make a significant difference for women led businesses in the country.”
The Meta-NIBAF partnership aims to build on the two organizations’ shared experience in upskilling and enabling up and coming entrepreneurs for improved business prospects. While Meta has been leveraging its social media platforms and digital expertise for human development and economic recovery post Covid-19, NIBAF also boasts extensive capabilities and expertise in designing, and delivering a range of training programs, workshops, and seminars in subjects relevant to economics, banking, finance, and management for capacity building of commercial bankers, micro and rural finance providers, management professionals and entrepreneurs in the country. Its National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y) educates the Pakistani youth and school-going children on money management skills.
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SBP issues KIBOR rates on April 01, 2022
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued the Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) as of April 01, 2022.
Following are the latest KIBOR rates:
Tenor BID OFFER 1 – Week 9.86 10.36 2 – Week 10.02 10.52 1 – Month 10.69 11.19 3 – Month 11.64 11.89 6 – Month 12.25 12.50 9 – Month 12.29 12.79 1 – Year 12.34 12.84 -
Yarn merchants urge SBP to stop rupee deterioration
KARACHI: Yarn merchants have urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to stop the rupee depreciation against the US dollar otherwise it will make industry to continue business.
Chairman Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA), Saqib Naseem and Vice Chairman Sindh Balochistan Region, Muhammad Junaid Teli, while expressing deep concern over the continuous depreciation of the rupee and the sharp rise in the value of the dollar, requested the Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Reza Baqir, to adopt effective strategies for stability of rupee.
READ MORE: PYMA seeks duty, taxes cut on yarn in budget 2022/2023
In a statement, PYMA office-bearers warned that rupee devaluation was going to have a deep impact on inflation as it would raise the cost of doing business, making Pakistani goods non-competitive in the export market and unaffordable in the domestic markets.
READ MORE: PYMA fears cancellation of export orders
They highlighted the negative effects of the rising value of the dollar on the country’s economy, especially business activities, and said that on the one hand, the relentless storm of inflation was in full swing. On the other hand, the continuous depreciation of the rupee and the high level of the dollar has led to a huge increase in the production cost of the yarn business and industries.
READ MORE: Saqib Naseem elected central chairman PYMA
PYMA office-bearers Said, “Raw materials are not available in the country as per the industrial demand, the industries have to import the raw materials from abroad in order to continue uninterrupted production activities. However, these days the soaring value of the dollar has put the business community in a difficult position, especially the production costs of SMEs have skyrocketed.”
READ MORE: PYMA demands cotton import through land routes
Saqib Naseem and Junaid Teli requested the Governor State Bank, Reza Baqir to prevent further depreciation of rupee and to prevent the dollar from appreciating, adopt strategies that reduce the cost of doing business. This will definitely boost trade and industry and create ample employment opportunities.
Otherwise it will be difficult to do business and run industries which will affect exports and also increase unemployment in the country.
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Customers’ exchange rates on April 01, 2022
KARACHI, April 01, 2022 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has published the exchange rates for customers on Friday, April 01, 2022.
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SBP issues bank timing during Ramadan 2022
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday issued banking office and business hours during the holy month of Ramadan ul Mubarak.
During the ensuing month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak 1443 A.H., the following office hours will be observed in the State Bank of Pakistan, which will also be followed by all banks / Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) / Microfinance Banks (MFBs):
Days Office Hours Monday to Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with prayer break from 2:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.) Friday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (without break) Banks / MFBs are further advised to observe the following minimum business (banking) hours for public dealing:
Days Business (Banking) Hours for Public Dealing Monday to Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (without break) Friday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (without break) However, except Friday, banks / MFBs may observe extended business (banking) hours for public dealing from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (with 15 minutes prayer break) as per their business requirements.
After the month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, the above timings will automatically be reverted to pre Ramzan timings.
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Pakistan’s weekly forex reserves deplete by $2.88 billion
KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $2.88 billion in a week to $18.554 billion by week ended March 25, 2022, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.
The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $21.44 billion by week ended March 18, 2022.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fall to $21.44 billion
This is seventh consecutive week when the country’s foreign exchange reserves have witnessed consistent decline. The liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $5.167 billion since February 04, 2022, when the reserves were at $23.721 billion.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s forex reserves dip to $22.283 billion
The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank recorded a decline of $2.915 billion to $12.047 billion by week ended March 25, 2022 as compared with $14.962 billion a week ago i.e. March 18, 2022.
READ MORE: SBP’s reserves slip by $250 million on foreign payments
The SBP attributed the decline to repayment of external debt, including repayment of a major syndicated loan facility from China. The rollover of this syndicated facility is being processed and is expected shortly.
The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks however recorded a nominal increase of $30 million to $6.507 billion by week ended March 25, 2022 as compared with $6.477 billion a week ago.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s forex reserves decline to $22.875 billion
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SBP issues KIBOR rates on March 31, 2022
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued the Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) as of March 31, 2022.
Following are the latest KIBOR rates:
Tenor BID OFFER 1 – Week 9.94 10.44 2 – Week 10.12 10.62 1 – Month 10.91 11.41 3 – Month 11.70 11.95 6 – Month 12.27 12.52 9 – Month 12.30 12.80 1 – Year 12.34 12.84 -
Customers’ exchange rates on March 31, 2022
KARACHI, March 31, 2022 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the exchange rates for customers on Thursday, March 31, 2022.
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SBP issues electronic money license to Careem Pay
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has granted Careem Pay with an In-Principle-Approval (IPA) for an Electronic Money Institution license (EMI).
Careem has launched Careem Pay, its fintech affiliate, in Pakistan as an independent entity which plans to invest $50 million to leapfrog the fintech ecosystem in Pakistan. It will be led by Noman Khurshid as its General Manager.
This paves the way for Careem Pay to bring convenient and accessible financial services to 9+ million Customers, 800,000 Captains and 3000+ merchants both on and beyond the Careem App, subject to SBP final approval.
Once Careem Pay achieves operational readiness from SBP, it will offer services ranging from bill payments including utilities, government and education fees, peer-to-peer (P2P) transfer and wallet cash-outs.
READ MORE: Careem signs agreement to provide logistic solution to Unilever
In subsequent phases and subject to approvals from SBP, Careem Pay aims to provide cards, inward international remittance services as well as services that will enable Customers and merchants to make and accept online or offline payments.
This adds to the existing services available through Careem Pay which supports payment across all Careem services including ride-hailing and food delivery, as well as P2P credit transfer and mobile top-ups within the app.
Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and Co-founder of Careem said: “Careem Pay aims to simplify and improve lives by making everyday payments easier and more accessible for our Customers, Captains and merchants.
“We are thankful to the SBP for trusting us with an IPA for the EMI license which gives us an immense opportunity to empower people by delivering innovative payment experiences. With approximately 30 per cent of the total population and 18 per cent of women banked in Pakistan, we see this as an enormous opportunity to leapfrog cash payments into digital transactions. Chalo ‘Careem Pay’!”
READ MORE: Careem Pakistan asked to facilitate expatriates availing services in country
Noman Kurshid, GM Pakistan, Careem Pay added: “Careem is uniquely positioned to tap into the digital financial opportunity in Pakistan. With a massive Customer, Captain and merchant base across the country, conducting high frequency transactions on our platform, we understand the pain points and are well placed to deliver solutions to address them. We are excited to play our role in the digitization of Pakistan’s financial ecosystem and enhancing financial inclusion.”
Pakistan is bracing itself for a fintech revolution as the fifth most populous country in the world. Safe digital payment providers will be crucial to reducing Pakistan’s high levels of cash circulation which amounts to Rs7 trillion and 85 per cent cash-on-delivery via e-commerce.
With the significant growth in smartphone penetration in Pakistan, Careem Pay will enable Customers, Captains and merchants to access more simplified and convenient payment services.