KARACHI: As the country surges ahead with a financial technology (FinTech) revolution, Pakistan’s central bank said on Monday that it has launched laws for Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) as a step toward issuing digital currency by 2025.
The regulations – which have been designed with the help of the World Bank — will also seek to cover other requirements such as outsourcing activities, anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing measures, consumer protection, complaint handling mechanism, oversight and regulatory reporting.
EMIs are non-bank entities that will be licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to issue e-Money for the purpose of digital payments.
On Monday, Finance Minister Asad Umar stressed on the need to safeguard financial institutions as “cybersecurity was a growing threat” and termed the launch of the electronic money institutions as a game changer in promoting e-Commerce and a digital economy in the country.
“This new category of institutions will complement the efforts of the government in creating an enabling environment to empower stakeholders in trade and commerce. This will help businesses in improving their productivity and contribute toward positioning the nation for global competition,” he said.
Officials from the SBP concurred. “These landmark regulations are a testament of the SBP’s commitment toward openness, adoption of technology and digitization of our financial system,” Jameel Ahmad, Deputy Governor of SBP, said, adding that the SBP is transforming itself into a modern, digital and technology-oriented bank.
He said that the SBP is working on issuing digital currency by 2025, with the aim to promote financial inclusion and reduce corruption, and inefficiency.
“Our currency will remain the same, but as opposed to existing online payment services — where there is the backing of any financial institution — there will be not [be any] financial institution which we are going to bring in,” Abid Qamar, spokesman of the SBP said dispelling the impression that the central bank was going to issue a cryptocurrency.
Financial experts lauded the initiative as a “landmark in FinTech space”, terming it as the most progressive measure taken by the SBP in years.
“The launch of e-Money regulations…is a key landmark in our FinTech space. This way, Fintechs have been empowered to open and manage accounts themselves. This day is going to mark the inflection point for digital payments in Pakistan. We need this sort of speed and regulatory environment to set the ground for our FinTechs to flourish,” Khurram Schehzad, a senior financial analyst and CEO of Alpha Beta Core — a financial advisory firm, said.
Meanwhile, experts said that the initiative will place Pakistan among the few nations in the world who have adopted e-Money mechanisms. “This initiative is capital intensive and would help Pakistan achieve financial inclusion, especially in the rural sector of the country,” S. M. Arif, a financial and banking technologist, told Arab News.
He added that it would also help small and medium enterprises, the farming community, and rural dwellers gain access to financial instruments. “By enabling this regulations authorities have enabled wider base of population whether Urban or Rural, to have access to finance through these new digital mode of payments from verity of players. This will require proper and frequent education of masses from issuers to make good use of such facilities and safety of these instruments” he said, before quickly adding that “the business model must be made keeping in view the local market requirements and security threats as copy pasting a foreign model may backfire”.
Pakistan to tap into digital currency potential by 2025
Pakistan to tap into digital currency potential by 2025
- Move to address cybersecurity threats faced by institutions, FM Umar says
- Launch of e-Money regulations a key landmark in FinTech space, analysts add
Pakistan says 30% of its vehicles will be electric by 2030
- Hybrid electric vehicle sales in Pakistan have more than doubled in past year
- Global EV giant BYD Group has obtained manufacturing license in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said on Thursday 30% of vehicles in Pakistan would be converted to electric by 2030, state media widely reported, as the South Asian country takes step to combat air pollution and other climate change effects.
The minister was echoing the government’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy released on Wednesday, which is aimed at transitioning 30 percent of all new vehicles — imported and locally manufactured — to electric power by 2030.
Hybrid electric vehicle sales in Pakistan have more than doubled in the past year. BYD Pakistan, a partnership between China’s BYD and Pakistani car group Mega Motors, said in September up to 50 percent of all vehicles bought in Pakistan by 2030 will be electrified in some form in line with global targets.
Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD announced its entry into Pakistan in August, making the nation of 250 million people one of its newest markets.
“Pakistan aims to convert thirty percent of its vehicles to electric by 2030,” Khan said as he addressed the “Transport and Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond” session at the ongoing UN COP29 summit in Baku.
“Significant steps are underway to support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in Pakistan … the government is actively working on infrastructure development for EVs, including the installation of charging stations.”
Local media reported in August that standards for EV charging stations had been drafted by the power ministry, with the government considering offering them affordable electricity.
Under the new EV policy, the government has introduced subsidies of Rs50,000 for electric motorcycles and Rs200,000 for three-wheelers like rickshaws, with a total allocation of Rs4 billion. These subsidies will be distributed through auctions. So far, two companies have been granted licenses, and 31 more applications are under review.
The policy also incorporates a reduction in the policy rate from 22 to 15 percent, with financing available at a 3 percent Kibor (Karachi Interbank Offered Rate) and the government covering the financial cost. Consumers will pay monthly installments of around Rs9,000 over two years, an amount lower than their projected fuel savings.
A Credit Loss Guarantee managed by the Finance Division will ensure no financial burden on the Ministry of Industries or consumers.
Additional initiatives include offering free electric bikes or scooters to 120 high-achieving students and reducing duties on EV components to encourage local manufacturing. The government is also set to establish a New Energy Fund and a New Energy Vehicle Center to support these measures.
BYD Pakistan is collaborating with two oil marketing companies to establish a charging infrastructure network and aims to establish 20 to 30 charging stations within the initial phases concurrent with the rollout of its cars.
BYD Pakistan will initially sell fully assembled vehicles, which are subject to higher import charges than vehicles shipped in parts and assembled locally. Dewan Motors is also set to launch its EVs under the completely knocked down (CKD) license.
Pakistan voices ‘deep regret’ as US vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire
- 15-member UN council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members
- Only US voted against, using its veto as permanent council member to block resolution
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday expressed “deep regret” over the United States vetoing a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, which has drawn criticism of the Biden administration for once again blocking international action aimed at halting Israel’s war in the besieged enclave.
The 15-member council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the 13-month conflict and separately demanded the release of hostages. Only the US voted against it, using its veto as a permanent council member to block the resolution.
“We deeply regret that even now a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire has been vetoed by the sole negative vote of a permanent member of the Council,” Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, told the state APP news agency.
Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN, said Washington had made clear it would only support a resolution that explicitly called for the immediate release of hostages as part of a ceasefire.
“A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages. These two urgent goals are inextricably linked. This resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the United States could not support it,” he said.
Wood said the US had sought compromise, but the text of the proposed resolution would have sent a “dangerous message” to Hamas that “there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people and displaced nearly all of the enclave’s population at least once. It was launched in response to an attack by Hamas fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
With inputs from Reuters
Gulf countries have identified $19 billion investment portfolio for Pakistan — planning minister
- Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy
- Rollovers, loans from Saudi Arabia, UAE, China have helped Pakistan meet external financing needs in the past
ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among others, had identified a $19 billion investment portfolio for Pakistan, while China was now entering phase two of a multi-billion-dollar economic corridor project.
Pakistan has been pushing for foreign investment in recent months in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy as it navigates a tough reforms agenda mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The world, which was viewing Pakistan as a failed economy, is once more looking at Pakistan with hope,” Iqbal said as he addressed a ceremony in Islamabad.
“China is extending its hand in the form of phase two of CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor]. Our friendly nations, Gulf countries, which include Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Azerbaijan, they have together identified a $19 billion portfolio under which they can invest in Pakistan. So, all these opportunities are once again knocking at our door.”
Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.
Last month, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed investment agreements worth $2.8 billion while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged to expedite a $5 billion investment portfolio for Islamabad.
The UAE committed this May it would invest $10 billion in promising economic sectors. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said this week Azerbaijan had pledged to invest $3 billion in multiple sectors of Pakistan’s economy.
Pakistan and the IMF signed a $7 billion loan program in September.
Pakistan’s economy has struggled for decades with boom-and-bust cycles, needing 23 IMF bailouts since 1958.
Two new species of cobia fish found off Gwadar coast in northern Arabian Sea
- New study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Zoologischer Anzeiger
- Research team found species during study of commercially popular black king cobia
ISLAMABAD: Two newly identified species of the cobia fish have been found off Pakistan’s Gwadar coast in the northern Arabian Sea, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Zoologischer Anzeiger, whose latest edition came out this month.
The cobia is a species of marine carangiform ray-finned fish, whose other common names include black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeater, prodigal son, codfish, and black bonito.
“This study describes two newly identified species, Rachycentron blochii sp. nov. and Rachycentron makranesis sp. nov. from Gwadar in the northern Arabian Sea,” said the study, authored by Dr. Sher Khan Panhwar and Dr. Imtiaz Kashani, professors at the Center of Excellence in Marine Biology at the University of Karachi.
“The newly discovered species differ significantly from their relatives in multiple morphological traits, such as head profile, mouth, pectoral fin, caudal fin, caudal peduncle, dorsal and anal fin bases, gill rakers, and body coloration.”
The recent finding increases the number of cobia species in the northern Arabian Sea, Pakistan, the study says, presenting information on the species’ biological and ecological aspects such as feeding habits, age assessment, habitat preferences and fishery-related details.
The research was financially supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan through its National Research Programme for Universities project.
“At first glance, I thought it was another black king cobia but when I looked closer at the markings on its body, I knew it was different,” Dr. Panhwar told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, explaining that he was traveling with students on a routine survey of the Gwadar fish harbor last year when he spotted the new species. The team was there to study the black king cobia or Rachycentron canadum, a commercially popular large fish found around the world.
Fresh specimens weighing between 4 and 7 kg were immediately cooled in dry-ice and packed into ice boxes for transportation to the fisheries laboratory at the University of Karachi, some 650km away from the Gwadar harbor.
Back at the laboratory, Dr. Panhwar and his colleague Dr. Kashani analyzed the unusual cobias, examining their appearance, dissecting them, and comparing them with the typical species.
The two new species have been named the Blotchy Cobia, a nod to the large gray markings found on its body as well as to the Balochi language spoken in the region. The other one will be called Makran Cobia, named after the Makran coast where it was found.
“At this time, these species of cobia have only been spotted in Pakistan,” Panhwar told Dawn.
After bail in state gifts case, new charges filed against Pakistan’s Imran Khan
- Khan has been named in case relating to alleged violence by his supporters during a rally in September
- Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, says all cases against him are politically motivated
ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi police said on Thursday they had filed fresh charges against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan related to violence at a party rally in September, a day after a court granted the ex-premier bail in a case involving the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository.
On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court granted Khan bail in the new Toshakhana case, filed in July and involving a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple is accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository.
Before the new case was filed, Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was convicted in four cases. Two of the cases have since been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, while he was acquitted in the remaining two.
“A case has been registered for arson, stone pelting, resisting the police, damage to government property and other incidents,” Rawalpindi Police announced on X, reading the charges against Khan in connection to a protest held by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in September.
“Investigation team headed by SSP Investigation is investigating Imran Khan. Khan will be produced in court to obtain physical remand.”
Charges have also been filed in the case against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and a number of PTI leaders, including Seemabia Tahir, Amir Mughar and Aliya Hamza.
The police report of the case, which was filed on Sept. 28, the day of the rally, lists terrorism, attempted murder, vandalism, destruction of public and state property, and interference in government operations as the main charges. It says participants of the PTI rally created unrest, obstructed public access by burning tires and caused difficulties for citizens.
It also charges PTI leaders and supporters of raising anti-government slogans, hurling stones at the police and attacking them with iron rods during the protest.
Several police vehicles were damaged by PTI rallygoers and one police officer was injured, the report says.
Khan was in prison when the Sept. 28 rally took place. The former premier denies any wrongdoing, and alleges all the cases registered against him since he was removed from power in 2022 are politically motivated to keep him in jail.
