Karachi – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has reported an increase of $25 million in the country’s liquid foreign exchange reserves, bringing the total to $15.63 billion for the week ending August 23, 2019.
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SBP warns public against sale, purchase of foreign exchange with illegal money exchanges
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has warned general public against dealing of sale and purchase of foreign currency with illegal money exchanges.
The central bank in an information to general public said that sale, purchase and transfer of foreign currency through Hawala/Hundi operators is illegal.
The SBP said that people unknowingly may become part of money laundering and terrorism financing offence by dealing with illegal foreign exchange operators.
The money laundering and terrorism financing offences are punishable under Anti Money Laundering (AML) Act, 2010 and Anti Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.
The SBP advised the general public to carry foreign currency sale, purchase and remittance transactions with only State Bank authorized banks and exchange companies.
The central bank also advised to collect system generated official receipt of transactions. The general public has been urged to report any illegal foreign exchange sale/purchase and Hawala/Hundi Operators to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The SBP said that the business of foreign exchange in Pakistan is regulated under Foreign Exchange Regulations Act (FERA), 1947. The SBP issues authorization to banks and exchange companies to conduct foreign exchange business.
Any person (individual or entity) other than those authorized by the SBP are doing illegal foreign exchange business which is punishable offence under FERA 1947 and AMLA 2010.
All such operators are informed in their own interest not to indulge in illegal foreign exchange sale/purchase and hawala/hundi business.
The SBP said that extensive action against illegal currency exchange and hawala/hundi operators is being carried out by relevant law enforcement agencies.
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Foreign exchange reserves increase by $27 million to $15.604 billion
KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country have increased by $27 million to $15.604 billion by week ended August 17, 2019 as compared with $15.577 billion a week ago, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
The official reserves held by SBP fell by $26 million to $8.238 billion by week ended August 17, 2019 as compared with $8.264 billion week ago.
The central bank said that its official reserves were declined due to external debt servicing and other official payments.
The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks have increased by $53 million to $7.366 billion from $7.313 billion.
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Foreign direct investment declines by 59 percent in July
KARACHI: The net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has declined by 59 percent in the month of July 2019, according to data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
The FDI declined to $73 million in July 2019 as compared with $178.9 million in the same month of the last year.
The inflows under FDI declined to $168.4 million in the first month of current fiscal year as compared with $264.6 million in the corresponding month of the last fiscal year. The outflows were at $95 million as compared with $85.6 million.
The total foreign private investment witnessed decline of 21.6 percent to $107.2 million during the month under review as compared with $136.8 million in July 2018.
The inflow of portfolio investment in capital market increased by 180 percent to $34 million in July 2019 as compared with outflow of $42 million in the same month of the last year.
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SBP issues Islamic financing scheme for renewable energy projects
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday issued a new scheme of Islamic financing for renewable energy power projects.
The central bank said that it had issued IH&SMEFD Circular No. 01 dated February 22, 2019 introducing Mudarabah based ‘Islamic Financing Facility for Renewable Energy (IFRE)’ for Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) and DFIs having authorized Islamic financing operations.
Now an updated Islamic Financing Facility for Renewable Energy (IFRE) is being issued. This updated IFRE shall supersede and replace the Facility issued vide above-mentioned Circular.
The financing under IFRE is now available to the customers under three categories, as given below:
Category I: Prospective sponsors desirous of setting up renewable energy power projects with a capacity ranging from more than 1 MW and up-to 50 MW for their own use, selling electricity to the national grid (including distribution companies) or combination of both.
Category II: Prospective sponsors desirous of installing renewable energy source based projects/ solutions for generation of electricity up-to 1 MW.
Category III: Vendors and suppliers certified under AEDB Certification Regulation 2018 for installation of wind and solar systems on lease basis or selling of electricity to ultimate owners/users.
The SBP shall make Mudarabah investment in general pool of Participating Islamic Financial Institutions (PIFIs) under IFRE. Mudarabah investment of SBP in IFRE shall be available upto maximum financing limit of eligible projects as prescribed under each category of the Scheme.
IFRE shall be effective immediately and financing shall be available for projects achieving financial close under Category I and new sanctions under Category II or III after date of issuance of this Circular and up-to June 30, 2022 only.
The IBIs and DFIs having authorized Islamic financing operations under permission of SBP may submit their requests for the status of Participating Islamic Financial Institution (PIFI) keeping in view the criteria given in the facility.
They may also apply for allocation / assignment of limit for the current financial year. These requests may be submitted latest by 15th May each year. For the financial year 2019-20, these requests may be submitted within 30 days from the date of issuance of this Circular.
The IBIs and DFIs having authorized Islamic financing operations under permission of SBP which have already submitted their requests for status of PIFI and allocation of limit under earlier version, issued vide IH&SMEFD Circular No. 01 dated February 22, 2019, need not resubmit their requests unless they desire to revise amount of their requested limits.
However, they will be required to submit their updated operations/process manual aligned with this Scheme.
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Current account deficit narrows by 73 percent to $579 million in July
KARACHI: The current account deficit has narrowed by 73 percent to $579 million in July 2019 as compared with the deficit of $2.13 billion in the same month of the last year, according to statistics of Balance of Payment (BoP) released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday.
The SBP said that the deficit of goods trade reduced to $1.84 billion in July 2019 as compared with the deficit of $3.48 billion in the comparative month of the last year.
The inflows of home remittances increased to $2.28 billion in July 2019 as compared with $1.98 billion in the same month of the last year.
Analysts said that reduced current account deficit would bode well for the country.
The current account deficit was reached to $19.897 billion in fiscal year 2017/2018. However, the current account deficit reduced to $13.5 billion in the fiscal year 2018/2019.
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Banking system witnesses massive withdrawal of Rs711 billion in July
Pakistan’s banking system experienced a significant dip in deposits, with a massive withdrawal of approximately Rs711 billion in July 2019, following a record high in bank deposits by the end of June 2019.
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Commerce ministry extends date for submitting DLTL claims
KARACHI: The ministry of commerce has extended the last date for submission /resubmission of claims of Drawback of local Taxes and Levies (DLTL).
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday informed banks that the commerce ministry extended the date for claiming DLTL.
The central bank said that in terms of Commerce Division, Ministry of Commerce & Textile’s letter F.No. 5(2)/2017-SO(M&I) dated July 30, 2019, it has been decided to extend the deadline for submission/ resubmission of claims from claimants to Authorized Dealers (ADs) under Para 1(4)(a) and 1(4)(d) of the subject Order till August 15, 2019.
Further, the deadline for submission of the claims from ADs to the field offices of State Bank of Pakistan – Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC) shall be August 30, 2019.
Likewise, the last date for submission of incremental claims from exporters to ADs under Para 1(4)(b) of the subject Order, shall be October 16, 2019 and from ADs to SBP-BSC October 31, 2019.
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SBP sets maximum payment limits for board members of banks, DFIs
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday amended Prudential Regulations G-1 and sets maximum limits for payment to board members of banks and Development Financial Institutions (DFIs).
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Foreign exchange reserves increase by $557 million to $15.577 billion
KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves of the country have increased by $557 million to $15.577 billion by week ended August 09, 2019 as compared with $15.02 billion a week ago, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Saturday.
The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank were increased by $535 million to $8.264 billion by August 09 as compared with $7.729 billion a week ago.
The increase in central bank’s reserves is mainly due to inflow of $500 million received from Asian Development Bank (ADB), the SBP said.
The reserves held by commercial banks also increased by $22 million to $7.313 billion as compared with $7.291 billion.
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