Complex documentation to meet FATF requirements deterring new investors – PSX official

Pakistani people walk past a screen with share prices outside the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in Karachi on June 10, 2019. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 16 March 2022
Follow

Complex documentation to meet FATF requirements deterring new investors – PSX official

  • The Pakistan Stock Exchange chief says domestic political turbulence, global oil prices negatively impacting the equity market
  • PSX officials anticipate more companies to join the stock market by June, if the country’s political situation improves

KARACHI: The complex documentation process to open investor accounts with stock brokers recognized by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) frequently annoy people, said the top PSX official on Tuesday, adding the convoluted paperwork was to satisfy the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requirements.
The global dirty money watchdog placed Pakistan in 2018 on its grey list of countries with weak and vulnerable financial systems that could be exploited by terrorist networks and other criminal elements.
Pakistan has since tried to implement and abide by FATF action plans, fulfilling most requirements and questioning the wisdom of its continued presence on the list of countries of concern.
“If you call a broker and ask him to open your account, you will have to submit proof of income, tax returns, employer’s letter and many more documents, especially if you want to invest more than Rs0.8 million in the equity market,” Farrukh H. Khan, managing director of PSX, said while briefing journalists at the Karachi Press Club.
“But if you go for investment in real estate and buy a house worth Rs100 million, no one will ask you anything. Similarly, if you invest in the national saving scheme, you will not need to fulfill all these requirements. So, it is very easy for you to invest in those avenues instead of spending so much time here [at the stock market],” he said while advocating for uniform documentation requirements for all investment channels.




Managing Director of Pakistan Stock Exchange Farrukh H. Khan receives a souvenir from Karachi Press Club Secretary Muhammad Rizwan Bhatti in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 15, 2022. (AN Photo)

Asked about the impact of the complex documentation, he said it was huge.
“It is very difficult to estimate the number [of investors who go away], but it is creating a big impact,” Khan said, adding: “The process irritates investors.”
He noted that Roshan Digital Accounts, which overseas Pakistanis opened with banks, provided a much better way to invest in stocks because they already fulfilled the know-your-customer (KYC) requirement of banks.
Responding to a question about the impact of the volatile political situation of the country, the PSX chief said the political turbulence and global oil prices were negatively impacting the equity market.
“Due to the current situation, a big technology company pulled out of the initial public offering (IPO),” he informed.
Khan said that stock market was highly liquid and could be used to raise funds for construction of roads and other infrastructure development projects.
He informed the PSX had reached out to the finance ministry and proposed that investments under individual saving accounts should be made tax free to a certain limit.
Raeda Latif, head of marketing and business development at PSX, informed that market capitalization stood at Rs7.87 trillion ($44.89 billion) and over 269,000 investors along with 204 brokers actively supported the stock exchange.
“The government needs fund for a number of projects, including roads and power generation, and stock market is the best place from where this money can be raised,” she said. “Over the last five years, companies have raised Rs45.9 billion by listing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.”
The PSX officials said if the macro situation of the country improved, about four new companies, mostly from the technology sector, would be listed by June 2022.


Bracewell leads depleted New Zealand in Pakistan T20 series

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Bracewell leads depleted New Zealand in Pakistan T20 series

  • Host of top names missing from Kiwi squad due to Indian Premier League commitments
  • Pakistan will face New Zealand in first T20I between both sides on Sunday at Christchurch 

Wellington: Michael Bracewell will captain New Zealand for the first time on home soil when they meet Pakistan in a five-game T20 series, leading a squad named Tuesday missing several key players because of the IPL.

Bracewell starred as the Black Caps reached the final of the Champions Trophy and is one of seven players from that one-day team selected for the T20s.

But a host of top names are not available due to Indian Premier League commitments, including regular skipper Mitchell Santner, along with Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips.

Kane Williamson also made himself unavailable for the series, which gets under way on Sunday in Christchurch.

“It’s a great honor and a real privilege to captain your country,” said Bracewell, who led the side on their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year but has yet to take the reins at home.

“Mitch Santner’s done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I’ll really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in.

“Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they’ll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy,” he added.

Spinner Ish Sodhi was recalled while paceman Ben Sears is back after recovering from a torn hamstring.

Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Seifert were also included as both teams start building up to next year’s T20 World Cup in India.

New Zealand squad: Michael Bracewell (capt), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (games 4 and 5 only), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (games 4 and 5 only), Kyle Jamieson (games 1, 2 and 3 only), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke (games 1, 2 and 3 only), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi


Islamabad says has evidence Kabul ‘complicit’ in cross-border attacks by Pakistani Taliban

Updated 27 min 46 sec ago
Follow

Islamabad says has evidence Kabul ‘complicit’ in cross-border attacks by Pakistani Taliban

  • Pakistan has struggled to contain militancy in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan since November 2022
  • Ambassador Munir Akram says Pakistani Taliban emerging as umbrella for “regional terrorist groups” in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram has said that Islamabad has evidence of Kabul being “complicit” in cross-border militant attacks in Pakistan, the country’s mission to the UN announced on Tuesday, warning that surging militancy in Afghanistan poses security dangers for its immediate neighbors. 

Akram’s statement at the UN comes amid Pakistan’s struggles to contain rising militancy in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the state and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, collapsed. Pakistan says the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in 2021 has emboldened the group as it is able to operate out of and launch attacks from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan, whose government denies the charges.

At a meeting of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan’s security, Akram said the TTP is the “largest designated terrorist organization operating from Afghanistan” with an estimated 6,000 fighters. Akram said that through safe havens close to the border with Pakistan, the TTP has conducted numerous attacks against Pakistani soldiers, civilians and institutions resulting in “hundreds of casualties.”

“We have evidence that the Kabul authorities have not only tolerated but are complicit in the conduct of the TTP’s terrorist cross-border attacks,” Akram said according to a statement by Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN on Mar. 10. 

He said the TTP is collaborating with other “terrorist groups” present in Afghanistan, such as the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and its Majeed Brigade unit, reiterating that they seek to destabilize Pakistan and disrupt its economic cooperation with China. 

The BLA is the most prominent separatist militant outfit in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land but its poorest by almost all economic indicators. The outfit has launched attacks against Pakistan’s security forces and targeted Chinese interests in Balochistan and Karachi frequently in the past. The BLA accuses Pakistan’s federal government and China— which has invested in Balochistan through an infrastructure network— of denying the locals a share in the province’s natural resources. Both governments deny the allegations and say they are working for Balochistan’s development.

Without naming India, Akram said the TTP also receives support from Pakistan’s “principal adversary.”

“TTP, perceived as enjoying Kabul’s patronage, is fast emerging an umbrella organization for regional terrorist groups whose objectives are to undermine the security and stability of all of Afghanistan’s neighbors,” he said. “Given its long association with Al-Qaeda, the TTP could pose not only a regional but a global terrorist threat.”

He pointed out the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American forces from the country, adding that aid for the 20 million people in Afghanistan should be “unconditional and generous.”

“Pakistan supports the call to unfreeze the assets of Afghanistan’s Central Bank,” he said. “This will revive the banking sector and end the cash transfers which are partially responsible for money flowing into the hands of terrorists.”

Akram concluded his statement by saying that the destinies of Pakistan and Afghanistan are intertwined via shared bonds of history, geography, ethnicity, language, faith and culture. 

“We are steadfast in our commitment to support all possible efforts at the bilateral, regional and global level to achieve peace, stability and development in Afghanistan,” he said. “After 40 years of conflict, the people of Afghanistan deserve no less.”
 


Pakistan, India among countries suffering from world’s most polluted air— report

Updated 11 March 2025
Follow

Pakistan, India among countries suffering from world’s most polluted air— report

  • Only 17 percent of global cities met WHO air quality standard, says Swiss monitoring firm IQAir
  • Pakistan has been ranked third in air pollution rankings behind Bangladesh and Chad

SINGAPORE: Only seven countries met World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards last year, data showed on Tuesday, as researchers warned that the war on smog would only get harder after the United States shut down its global monitoring efforts.

Chad and Bangladesh were the world’s most polluted countries in 2024, with average smog levels more than 15 times higher than WHO guidelines, according to figures compiled by Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir.

Only Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Estonia and Iceland made the grade, IQAir said.

Significant data gaps, especially in Asia and Africa, cloud the worldwide picture, and many developing countries have relied on air quality sensors mounted on US embassy and consulate buildings to track their smog levels.

However, the State Department has recently ended the scheme, citing budget constraints, with more than 17 years of data removed last week from the US government’s official air quality monitoring site, airnow.gov, including readings collected in Chad.

“Most countries have a few other data sources, but it’s going to impact Africa significantly, because oftentimes these are the only sources of publicly available real-time air quality monitoring data,” said Christi Chester-Schroeder, IQAir’s air quality science manager.

 A man walks past a sign that reads "Drive carefully save life" in Peshawar, Pakistan, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP/File)

Data concerns meant Chad was excluded from IQAir’s 2023 list, but it was also ranked the most polluted country in 2022, plagued by Sahara dust as well as uncontrolled crop burning.

Average concentrations of small, hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 hit 91.8 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/cu m) last year in the country, slightly higher than 2022.
The WHO recommends levels of no more than 5 mg/cu m, a standard met by only 17 percent of cities last year.

India, fifth in the smog rankings behind Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, saw average PM2.5 fall 7 percent on the year to 50.6 mg/cu m.

But it accounted for 12 of the top 20 most polluted cities, with Byrnihat, in a heavily industrialized part of the country’s northeast, in first place, registering an average PM2.5 level of 128 mg/cu m.

Climate change is playing an increasing role in driving up pollution, Chester-Schroeder warned, with higher temperatures causing fiercer and lengthier forest fires that swept through parts of South East Asia and South America.

Christa Hasenkopf, director of the Clean Air Program at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC), said at least 34 countries will lose access to reliable pollution data after the US program was closed.

The State Department scheme improved air quality in the cities where the monitors were placed, boosting life expectancy and even reducing hazard allowances for US diplomats, meaning that it paid for itself, Hasenkopf said.

“(It) is a giant blow to air quality efforts worldwide,” she said


13 women-led startups graduate from program by Pakistan’s largest digital bank

Updated 11 March 2025
Follow

13 women-led startups graduate from program by Pakistan’s largest digital bank

  • Incubator program equipped women with skills, financial literacy and tools to upscale startups, says Mobilink Bank 
  • Pakistani startup Ecobricks bags “Best Startup Award” while Recycle Bin, EcoGrow each won Innovation Challenge 

ISLAMABAD: Thirteen women-led startups recently graduated from an incubator program offered by Pakistan’s largest digital microfinance bank, equipping them with skills, financial literacy and the tools to upscale their enterprises, Mobilink Bank said in a statement this week. 

International and local rights groups have spoken out against women being marginalized in conservative Pakistan, where they are often subjected to gender inequality, suffer from lack of work opportunities, face violence and sexual abuse. 

A graduation ceremony of Mobilink Bank’s ‘Women Inspirational Network (WIN) Incubator Program’ was held in Islamabad on Saturday, Mar. 8, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The event was attended by key stakeholders, industry leaders, businesswomen, partner organizations and media representatives, Mobilink Bank said in a statement on Monday. 

“As a future-ready bank, we’re not just providing tools and opportunities but paving the way for lasting change,” Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, chief executive officer and president of Mobilink Bank, said in a statement. “When a woman rises, she lifts her family and community with her.”

Graduates of ‘Women Inspirational Network (WIN) Incubator Program’ pose for a picture in Islamabad March 8, 2025. (Mobilink Microfinance Bank)

Pakistani startup Ecobricks received the “Best Startup Award” and a prize of Rs1 million ($3,573), while Recycle Bin and EcoGrow were each awarded Rs500,000 ($1,786) as winners of the Innovation Challenge. 

“The awards recognized promising ideas and provided crucial financial support to fuel these businesses’ continued growth and success,” the bank said. “The bank also announced the launch of the program’s second cohort to continue nurturing a thriving ecosystem for women-led businesses.”

Pakistan’s foreign secretary Amna Baloch was the chief guest at the event. She described the incubator program as a “resounding success.”

“The stories of these women inspire hope and motivate others to take the reins of their lives into their own hands,” Baloch said in a statement.


Pakistan oil regulator in crosshairs of refineries, marketing firms over ‘take or pay’ clause

Updated 11 March 2025
Follow

Pakistan oil regulator in crosshairs of refineries, marketing firms over ‘take or pay’ clause

  • OMCs strongly oppose proposal due to fear of liquidity crises, supply disruptions and potential market exits
  • Refineries say oil marketing firms failing to lift product disrupts operations, threatens supply chain stability

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) said this week it would mediate between refineries and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to reach a “mutually agreeable” resolution on differences over the authority’s proposal to impose a “take or pay” clause in purchase agreements with refineries, which OMCs argue would unfairly burden them.

Pakistan has five oil refineries that process crude oil to produce refined petroleum products. Around 30 OMCs are licensed by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to ensure the availability of petroleum products in the country.

A conflict emerged between local oil refineries and OMCs over OGRA’s proposal to include a take or pay clause in Sales Purchase Agreements (SPAs), with OMCs strongly opposing the move fearing liquidity crises, supply disruptions and potential market exits. Under the new contracts, oil marketing companies would have to pay at least cost to refineries if they are unable to pick up their allocated quantities of product.

The chairman of the Oil Marketing Association of Pakistan (OMAP), a body representing two dozen small and medium-sized Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), wrote a letter to OGRA Chairman Masroor Khan this week to formally oppose the proposed clause, saying it would serve the interests of refineries and large OMCs at the expense of smaller players, further consolidating the monopolistic control of big fish in the oil sector. 

OGRA spokesperson Imran Ghaznavi told Arab News refineries and OMCs had been asked to enter into written sale and purchase contracts. 

“The take or pay clause means if an OMC does not buy the contracted quantity, it will still have to pay the purchase price or a penalty and vice versa,” he said. 

OMAP chairman Tariq Wazir Ali told Arab News on Monday the body had “expressed our grave concerns regarding the proposed imposition of the take or pay clause in the SPAs between refineries and OMCs as it poses significant risks to the financial sustainability of OMCs.” 

He said imposing a take or pay clause would hamper competition, discourage new entrants, and ultimately harm the overall efficiency of the petroleum supply chain. He also said the proposed clause overlooked refineries’ opportunistic behavior as they often withheld supply when prices were expected to rise, forcing OMCs into costly imports, and offloaded maximum stock when prices fell, causing financial losses to OMCs.

Given these circumstances, it was unreasonable to expect OMCs to bear inventory losses while refineries remained insulated from the market’s volatility, Ali said. 

“The proposed mechanism must be accompanied by a robust enforcement framework ensuring that refineries adhere to the same rules of fair play and supply commitments, regardless of market price trends,” he added, urging OGRA to convene an inclusive consultative meeting with equal representation of all stakeholders, including small and medium OMCs, before finalizing a decision. 

“MUTUALLY AGREEABLE CONTRACTS“

The conflict has emerged after five leading oil refineries wrote a letter to the OGRA chairman, arguing that OMCs had frequently failed to pick up agreed quantities of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) and Motor Gasoline (MOGAS), which had disrupted refinery operations and threatened supply chain stability. The refineries said while they maintained commercial agreements with OMCs, it was OGRA’s responsibility to enforce compliance with these contracts.

The refineries pointed to Rule 35(g) of the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage, and Marketing) Rules 2016, which mandates that local production must be prioritized before allowing imports. Keeping this in mind, they have supported OGRA’s suggestion of introducing a take or pay clause to ensure product uplift but say it should be implemented through mutual agreement and strict regulatory oversight. 

“The engagement sessions with the OMCs will start soon,” OGRA spokesperson Ghaznavi said, “and OGRA will, in the best national interest and for achieving efficiency in the oil supply chain, mediate between refineries and OMCs for a mutually agreeable sale and purchase contracts.”