Business

Will cryptocurrency ever be legalised in Pakistan?

Published

11 months ago

Farwa

Pakistan has decided to suspend cryptocurrency services available on the internet in the country to prevent illegal digital currency transactions as per the guidelines of the global anti-terror financing watchdog, the federal government said Wednesday.

Adhering to the directives, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Ministry of Information Technology have initiated work on banning cryptocurrencies.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha asserted that cryptocurrency will “never be legalised in Pakistan”, revealing that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has also imposed restrictions.

“FATF had set a condition that cryptocurrency will not be legalised,” she maintained.

Endorsing Pasha’s views, SBP Director Sohail Jawad said that crypto transactions involve “high risk”; therefore, it will never be granted permission in Pakistan.

“Cyrtocurrency is virtual currency and more than 16,000 types have been formed so far,” he said, adding that the $2.8 trillion market has now shrunk to $1.2 trillion.

Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Senator Saleem Mandviwalla raised concerns over the billions of dollars invested in the market. Addressing the concerns, the SBP official said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) — a financial intelligence unit which helps Pakistan to fight against terrorism financing and money laundering — are working on this.

Pakistan has seen a boom in trading and mining cryptocurrency, with interest increasing in thousands of views of related social media videos and online exchange transactions.

Cryptocurrency mining flourished in Pakistan until April 2018 when the government banned trading and mining virtual currencies. There is still a growing mining industry despite the fact that many mining farms have been shut down since this ban was implemented.

Most exchanges operate through ghost partners and never show on the regulatory radar. However, the government has been making continuous efforts to stop crypto trading.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

3 hours ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

3 hours ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

3 hours ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.