Business

Govt increases profit rates on saving schemes

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

CDNS says new rates effective from May 9.
Savings Account rates increase from 18.5% to 19.5%
Special Savings Certificates will now yield 17.4%.

The government has revised the rate of profit on national saving schemes by upto 1% to make the schemes lucrative and mobilise investment from the general public, The News reported Tuesday.

The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) — which works under the Ministry of Finance — announced an increase in the rates of return on some of its National Savings schemes, effective from May 9, 2023.

Taking to his Twitter handle, CDNS Director General Hamid Raza Khalid wrote that the Savings Account rates have been raised from 18.5% to 19.5%.

Additionally, Special Savings Certificates will now yield 17.4% compared to the previous rate of 17.13%.

The rates on three-month Short Term Savings Certificates (STSC) have been increased to 20.84%, while the yield of six-month STSC has surged to 20.82%.

Rates on 1-year STSC have also been revised upward to 20.8%. Khalid said the rates on other schemes will remain unchanged.

	Current	Previous	Change
Defence Saving Certificates (DSC)	14.87%	14.87%	—
Bahbood Saving Certificates (BSC)	16.56%	16.56%	—
Regular Income Certificates (RIC)	12.84%	12.84%	—
Special Saving Certificates (SSC)	17.40%	17.13%	+27
Savings Account (SA)	19.50%	18.50%	+100
Pensioners Benefit Account (PBA)	16.56%	16.56%	—
Short Term Saving Certificates (STSC)	20.8%	19.82%	+98

The revision in the rates of National Savings schemes comes after the State Bank of Pakistan raised the key interest rate by 100 basis points, taking it to 21% last month.

This decision was made due to back-breaking inflation and is expected to remain high in the near future.

The CDNS, which offers saving certificates to individual investors, reinvests the money in government papers like Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) and treasury bills (T-bills).

Business

Trade ties between Pak-Oman: Both nations decide to activate “Joint Business Council”.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Jam Kamal Khan, federal minister for commerce, visited Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Muscat alongside chairman Faisal Abdullah Al Rawas.

To enable closer economic collaboration, both sides decided during the meeting to activate joint Business Council between OCCI and the federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and industry.

Concurrent with the conference, the Embassy of Pakistan arranged a b2b networking event in association with OCCI to gather Omani Businessmen and Pakistani Business Delegates investigating trade prospects.

Speaking on the occasion, Jam Kamal Khan said, “Our present trade figures do not fairly represent the depth of our connection. We can quickly raise the current Trade volume to two or three times its present level by just eliminating logistical and communication barriers.

Business

Despite economic gains, PSX remains strong.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Amidst the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a loan tranche, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has resumed its upward trajectory in recent days.

The KSE-100 Index gained 600 points on Friday, the penultimate working day of the business week, and then increased to 115,730 points as traders showed confidence and engaged in trading.

After experiencing fluctuations, the PSX gained strength on Thursday, as the major index surpassed 115,000 points.

The KSE 100-Index closed at 115,094.23 points after gaining 1,009.70 points, or 0.89 percent. 115,247.39 was the intraday high, and 14,429.93 was the lowest.

According to experts, one important factor is Moody’s Ratings’ upgrade of Pakistani banks. Investor confidence has also increased due to the expectation of a positive conclusion from the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In its assessment, Moody’s stated, “We have shifted our outlook on Pakistan’s banking system from stable to positive to reflect the banks’ resilient financial performance as well as improving macroeconomic conditions from very weak levels a year ago.”

The major index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surpassed 115,000 on Thursday, indicating a surge in the market.

Business

Pakistan resolves to meet benchmarks, and the IMF promises economic help.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

In the midst of an ongoing economic review, the delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has promised Pakistan economic cooperation.

In order to assess the delivery of a $1 billion tranche under the $7 billion rescue deal, IMF officials are now in Pakistan.

Today, March 14, marks the completion of the two-week-long economic review and negotiations between the global lender’s representatives and Pakistani authorities.

The team met with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Ministry of Finance for the last round of negotiations.

The nation’s economic team’s actions and performance were praised by the visiting officials.

Aurangzeb promised the IMF during the conference that all economic goals would be met. He said that as long as the loan program is in place, no goals would be broken.