Tue, 21-Oct-2025

Dollars shortage hampering imports: SBP governor

Dollar

ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed has admitted that because of the shortage of dollars, the importers are facing difficulties in opening the letters of credit (LCs) and termed it a temporary phenomenon, as soon heavy inflows from multilateral and bilateral donors are expected, which will ease off the situation. Responding to … Read more

Rupee recovers against dollar in interbank market

Rupee recovers against dollar

The exchange rate gained 26 pasias to reach Rs223.69 against the dollar, dealers said. The local currency reversed its losses against the foreign currency. Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell $134 million to reach $7.82 billion during the week ended November 18. KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee showed recovery against the … Read more

Pakistanis can now open a bank account through SMS

Pakistanis can now open a bank account
  • The SBP has introduced a new service that enables you to open a bank account from the comfort of your home.
  • Sending an SMS to *2262# will get you registered, allow you to choose a bank, and grant you a PIN for your account.
  • The government representative made it clear that women will be given special attention.

A bank account opening might be a real hassle. The prerequisites for opening an account differ between banks, and some tend to ask more questions than others.

If you have a job, it is considerably more difficult because you need extra paperwork to confirm your employment.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced a new service, however, that enables you to open a bank account from the comfort of your home.

Even if you don’t have a working internet connection, you can still accomplish this. Through SBP’s new Asaan Mobile Account service, you can now open a bank account by sending an SMS to *2262#.

The aforementioned picture lists each of the necessary stages.

Sending an SMS to the aforementioned code will get you registered, allow you to choose a bank, input your CNIC information, and grant you a PIN for your account.

This demonstrates that any bank can use the capability to open an account, rather than just the State Bank of Pakistan.

Salman Sufi, head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, tweeted the information. He declared:

“Inclusion in financial system should be facilitated for women/transgender citizens, especially those without mobile data. Now simply SMS *2262# and open a bank account without visiting any bank. All you need is your CNIC. Let’s open banking to everyone. Not just a few.”

Although he states that “women and transsexual citizens” should be accommodated, it is important to note that the facility is accessible to everybody.

However, the government representative made it clear that women are given special attention because they frequently experience difficulties when creating bank accounts.

Salman Sufi replied to a user who asked how the bank account will function with regard to verification, deposits, transfers, withdrawals, and other features by saying that everything can be done via SMS.

It will be interesting to see how this service develops and how the general public, particularly women and transgender people, respond to it.

 

[embedpost slug=”court-orders-to-confiscate-13-bank-accounts-of-suleman-shahbaz/”]

Read more

Pakistan bourse closes in green territory over unchanged policy rate

Pakistan bourse closes in green territory over unchanged policy rate

KARACHI: The Pakistan bourse remained positive on Tuesday to close in the green territory, as the market welcomed the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to maintain the key policy rate at 15 per cent, analysts said.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said that the central bank kept the policy rate unchanged to keep it stable in the near term, citing a significant decrease in demand and inflation tapering off in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.

“The deputy governor said on Bloomberg that Pakistan is over financed for fiscal year 2023, easily meeting $33 billion finance needs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced taking up Pakistan’s seventh and eighth review on its board meeting agenda on August 29,” he added.

On the flip side, the rupee is back in hot waters after depreciating against the dollar in the last few sessions. Going forward, we expect the market to perform well. Hence, we recommend our investors adopt the “Buy on Dip” strategy in the upcoming sessions, he said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 1.26 per cent, or 540.11 points, to close at 43,366.77 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 1.59 per cent, or 258.58 points, to close at 16,490.83 points.

An analyst at JS Global said that the market welcomed the decision of SBP to pause monetary tightening for now. The KSE-100 Index gained over 540 points to eventually close at 43,367.

“Going forward, we recommend investors adopt a buy-on-dips strategy in banking, exploration and production (E&P) and textile sectors,” he added.

As many as 341 scrips were active of which 211 advanced, 107 declined and 23 remained unchanged.

The ready market volumes stood at 324.44 million shares, compared with the turnover of 194.66 million shares in the last trading session.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that the PSX witnessed a bullish session as the KSE-100 Index traded in the green zone throughout the day.

“The investors’ confidence got a boost due to the policy rate being unchanged. The cement sector remained in the limelight while hefty volumes were witnessed in the main board and third tier stocks,” he added.

The companies which reflected the highest gains included Nestle Pakistan up Rs242 to close at Rs6,197/share, Colgate Palm up Rs64.99 to close at Rs2,400/share.

The companies which reflected the most losses included Pak Services down Rs95 to close at Rs1,175/share, and Sanofi-Aventis down Rs70 to close at Rs1,270/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in Hascol Petrol with a turnover of 64.11million shares. The scrip gained 35 paisas to close at Rs6.94/share, followed by K-Electric with a turnover of 25.22 million shares. It gained 5 paisas to close at Rs3.40/share. WorldCall Telecom remained the third with a turnover of 16.97 million shares. It shed 2 paisas to finish at Rs1.36/share.

[embedpost slug=”pakistan-stocks-exchange-mixed-on-last-day-of-week/”]

Read more

State Bank unveils Rs75 commemorative banknote

banknote

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has unveiled a Rs75 commemorative banknote to honour the country on its diamond jubilee. The central bank unveiled the special note on the occasion of Independence Day. The note will be available for public issuance from September 30, 2022. The emerald green currency note has the portraits of Quaid-e-Azam … Read more

Rupee continues to make sharp recovery against dollar

Rupee

The rupee made another sharp recovery of Rs2.65 against the dollar on Thursday. The exchange rate ended at Rs226.15 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The local unit is making a continuous recovery after reports appeared regarding the Pakistan Army chief making a phone call to the US. KARACHI: The rupee made another sharp recovery … Read more

Rupee gains 46 paisas in the interbank

Rupee’s winning streak ends in interbank

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee gained 46 paisas to reach Rs238.38 against the dollar on Tuesday as positive sentiments prevailed after the government officials’ assurance. The local unit gained 46 paisas to close at Rs238.38 to the dollar from Monday’s closing of Rs238.84 in the interbank foreign exchange market. Analysts attributed the latest gains in the … Read more

Citibank and NIFT partner to promote digital financial services in Pakistan

Citibank and NIFT partner to promote digital financial services in Pakistan

Citibank will use NIFT ePay to provide clients digital payment options. Citibank N.A., Pakistan (Citi) and NIFT have agreed to promote digital financial services through referrals. The deal aims to give firms customized digital collecting options. Citibank N.A., Pakistan (Citi) and National Institutional Facilitation Technologies Private Limited (NIFT) recently made a deal to promote digital … Read more

SBP promotes farmers’ financial literacy online

SBP promotes farmers' financial literacy online

State Bank of Pakistan has produced films in national and regional languages to educate farmers. Lower 15-year yields Farmers don’t grasp ag finance, hurting rural banks. Next two movies discuss agricultural loan items, processes, and documentation. SBP has released movies in national and regional languages regarding agriculture finance products and procedures to educate farmers, especially … Read more

SBP Declares Foreign Exchange Trading Platforms Illegal

SBP

Foreign exchange trading platforms such as OctaFX, Easy Forex, etc. are luring customers to trade on their platforms. Many citizens are investing and trading on these platforms. According to new SBP regulatory directive, sending money abroad to engage in foreign exchange trading is both dangerous and illegal. Customers are being drawn to trade on several … Read more

Rupee falls for ninth straight day; dollar hits Rs211.93

Pakistani rupee

Rupee weakens for the straight ninth day. The market was expecting Rupee to get stronger. The current account deficit skyrocketed to $13.78 billion KARACHI: The rupee fell for the ninth straight day against the dollar on Wednesday, as the foreign currency reached another high of Rs211.93 in the interbank market, dealers said. The exchange rate … Read more

Prices of essential items record decade high

essential items

High prices have been witnessed according to analysts. The inflation rate is likely to rise up to 16.5 per cent in the coming fiscal year. SBP has increased the policy points to 400 in 2022. KARACHI: The prices of essential items for the week ended June 16, 2022 have witnessed the highest increase in over … Read more

Local mobile manufacturing to resume after Govt. lifts bans

Local Mobile Manufacturing to Resume After Govt Lifts Bans

Good news for Mobile phone manufactures. The Government of Pakistan has finally decided to remove all the hindrances in local mobile manufacturing. The State Bank of Pakistan has even granted the permission to open a mobile manufacturing LC in the state. The ban on the imports of parts for phones has also been removed. Mainly … Read more

In 11 months, workers’ remittances increased by 6.3 percent to $28.4 billion

remittances

The overseas Pakistani workers’ remittances grew by 6.3 percent in 11 months (Jul-May) of current fiscal year to $28.4 billion against inflows of $26.7 billion in same period of previous year. Remittances’ inflows during May 2022 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($541.9 million), United Arab Emirates ($435m), United Kingdom ($354m) and the United States … Read more

MPIMA demand “cruel” policy on smartphone industry be repealed

MPIMA

The MPIMA has asked for the cancellation of the 100% cash margin and prior approval from the central bank on import LCs (letters of credit). They also requested that the R&D allocation be increased to 8-10% and that an SRO be issued for a New Duty Drawback Scheme on local mobile phone production. The Mobile … Read more

SBP inserts over Rs1 trillion into open market

SBP

The total injections, which included the usual money supply for the seven-day open market operation (injection) on Wednesday, were Rs2.07 trillion. On May 27, Rs1.82 trillion in long-term injections were made. In May 2022, the inflation rate hit a 28-month high of 13.76 percent. Inflation has already spiked 20% this week compared to the same … Read more

Pakistani rupee appreciates to 199 against USD

Pakistani rupee

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee made a strong comeback on Friday, rising to 199 against the US dollar in intra-day trade on the interbank market. This was due to an uptick in market mood following an overnight unexpected boost in petroleum product prices, which raised hopes for a resurrection of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) programme. … Read more

State Bank tightens auto financing rules

SBP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday reduced the tenure of auto financing to three years from five years to discourage vehicle demand and support the falling rupee. It was the second reduction in a period of nine months for auto financing. Previously, the central bank trimmed the maximum period for auto financing … Read more

Inflation is expected to increase massively

Inflation

With the vital financial institution gearing as much as announcing the monetary coverage subsequent week, analysts expect the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to tighten its coverage settings so that it will fight runaway inflation and help the battered rupee, The News said. The marketplace awaits the outcome of the crucial bank’s May 23 assembly … Read more

Unisame felicitates Sharif on becoming Prime Minister

Unisame

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) felicitated Shahbaz Sharif on becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan, a statement said on Monday. Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver wished him luck, saying that the Union expected good governance, no tolerance against corruption and good administration from him. He said that Shahbaz Sharif is known for … Read more

SBP enhances key policy rate by 2.5% to 12.25%

sbp

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday sharply increased the key policy rate by 2.5 per cent to 12.25 per cent in an unscheduled monetary policy committee meeting. The meeting noted that the above developments necessitated a strong and proactive policy response. Accordingly, the committee decided at its emergency meeting to raise the … Read more

SBP suspends Noble Exchange International

SBP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has suspended the authorisation of Noble Exchange International (Pvt) Limited with immediate effect for violation of SBP rules and regulations, a statement said on Friday. Noble Exchange International (Pvt) Limited, an exchange company, will remain suspended till further orders, it added. The company, its head office, branches and … Read more

SBP directs banks to facilitate tax collection

State Bank of Pakistan

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to extend the banking hours on March 30 and March 31 2022 to facilitate the collection of government receipts, duties and taxes. The SBP has decided that the field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC) and authorised branches of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will … Read more

SBP unveils report on SDGs from banking perspective

SBP

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir unveiled the ‘SDGs and sustainability report – Pakistan banking sector perspective’ report in Dubai on March 23, 2022, a statement said on Friday. The report was launched in an event on the theme ‘The Future of Green and Sustainable Finance – The Role of the … Read more

Forex reserves decline $386 million

Forex reserves

KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country fell $386 million to $22.283 billion by the week ended March 11, 2022, the central bank reported on Thursday. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were recorded at $22.669 billion during the week ended March 4, 2022, it said. The official foreign exchange reserves of … Read more

SBP to organise Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Mela

SBP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan to organise a two-day Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) Mela at Circle Club Faisalabad on March 19 and 20, 2022, a statement said on Thursday. The SBP is organising the event in collaboration with banks and Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA). The Mela will remain open for public … Read more