Pakistan’s key Islamic bank targets Gulf market expansion, set to operate beyond national borders

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An undated file photo of a BankIslami Pakistan building. (Photo courtesy: iplusnewshd/ website)
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Updated 09 January 2024
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Pakistan’s key Islamic bank targets Gulf market expansion, set to operate beyond national borders

  • BankIslami chief eyes Saudi Arabia and the UAE to become first Pakistan-based Islamic bank to branch out internationally
  • The bank plans to add 100 new branches to its local network, including a full-fledged digital branch by the end of this year

KARACHI: BankIslami Pakistan is charting new horizons as it contemplates venturing into the Gulf markets, targeting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its overseas expansion, to become the first Islamic bank in the country operating on foreign shores, one of its top officials said on Tuesday.
The bank was established in 2005 and offers a range of Shariah-compliant banking products and services. With JS Bank as its majority shareholder, it has grown to become one of the leading Islamic banks in Pakistan.
Listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), BankIslami boasts a market capitalization of over Rs24 billion. According to financial results posted on the PSX website, it recorded a net profit of Rs3.3 billion in the quarter ending on September 30, 2023.
Rizwan Ata, President and CEO of BankIslami Pakistan, revealed on Tuesday the bank was planning both local and overseas expansions, with a primary focus on exploring opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf markets for expansion by next year.
“We are basically prioritizing Saudi Arabia first because most of the remittance from overseas Pakistanis, they come from Saudi Arabia,” he explained in an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of a meeting with journalists in Karachi. “The second market is the UAE, obviously second largest country from where Pakistanis send their remittances. So, it is our obvious second target.”
Ata added that Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and several other Middle Eastern states were also part of BankIslami’s overseas expansion plans.
“While other banks have international chains, but [BankIslami] as a Pakistan-based bank will be the first one, Inshallah [by the will of God], to do it,” he added.
The bank also plans to significantly expand its domestic presence by adding 100 more branches to its current network of over 400 branches by the end of the current year.
He informed that 60 percent of his bank’s operations were digital, adding it wanted to inaugurate an exclusive digital branch by the end of the year.
“Our full-fledged digital branch will be launched by the fourth quarter of 2024,” Ata informed, adding: “It will be a state-of-the-art digital branch in Pakistan that will be unmanned and issue cheque books, pay orders and even the ATM cards.”
Islamic banking has rapidly gained prominence in Pakistan, with market shares of assets and deposits reaching 19.6 percent and 22.5 percent, respectively, by the end of September 2023.
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) ruling passed in April 2022 requires Pakistan to transition its entire banking system from interest-based to interest-free operations within five years.
The court set December 2027 as the deadline for the complete elimination of riba – or interest – from the country’s banking system.
BankIslami’s chief said he was hopeful the deadline would be honored, given the progress in Islamic banking across Pakistan.
“We are hoping for it because all banks are making the effort,” Ata noted, adding that most new branches were being established in the country on Islamic banking principles.


Pakistan PM calls for effective strategy to increase exports to $60 billion in 5 years

Updated 59 min 32 sec ago
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Pakistan PM calls for effective strategy to increase exports to $60 billion in 5 years

  • Shehbaz Sharif chairs high-level meeting to review measures to enhance Pakistan’s exports
  • Calls for reduction in tariffs, special attention to be paid to IT, services and agriculture sectors 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed his economic team to devise an effective strategy to enhance Pakistan’s exports to $60 billion in five years, a statement from his office said as Islamabad looks for ways to tackle its macroeconomic crisis. 

Pakistan’s government in December 2024 launched a five-year national plan to escape a prolonged economic crisis that has drained the country of its financial resources and brought it to the brink of a sovereign default in 2023. 

The five-year National Economic Plan seeks to ensure sustainable development that hinges mainly on export-oriented growth. 

Sharif chaired a meeting of his economic team in Pakistan’s capital on Thursday to review measures to increase the country’s exports, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. 

“The prime minister gave directives to formulate a comprehensive and effective strategy to take the country’s exports to $60 billion in the next five years,” his office said. 

It said Sharif called for sustainable reforms in Pakistan’s tariff system to ensure its exports become competitive in the international market. 

He called on the government to pay special attention to the services, IT and agriculture sectors to increase exports.

Sharif was briefed by his team about the ongoing reforms within Pakistan’s commerce ministry and the strategies in place to enhance exports to 60 billion dollars in the next five years, his office said. 
Sharif was also told that the commerce ministry hosts international exhibitions in Pakistan annually to promote exports.


Pakistan’s deputy PM says will attend OIC meeting on Gaza in Jeddah on Mar. 7

Updated 20 February 2025
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Pakistan’s deputy PM says will attend OIC meeting on Gaza in Jeddah on Mar. 7

  • OIC meeting to take place in wake of US President Trump’s proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza to other countries 
  • Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries have rejected Trump’s plan, called for Palestinians’ right to self-determination

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday he would represent Pakistan at the upcoming Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Jeddah on Mar. 7, where the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the Palestinian cause will be discussed. 

The OIC meeting will reportedly take place next month amid backlash and uproar from Arab and OIC countries over US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to redevelop Gaza into an international beach resort, after resettling Palestinian inhabitants. The US president called on Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians, with the remarks drawing sharp reactions from both countries as well as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and others. 

Dar, who was in New York on a three-day visit to the US to attend a United Nations conference on multilateralism this week, told reporters he had discussed Trump’s proposal with the foreign ministers of Iran, Egypt, Malaysia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye recently.

“He said reportedly Arab leaders were scheduled to meet on the situation on Feb. 27 and Gulf leaders on Mar. 5 ,which would follow the extraordinary CFM meeting on Mar. 7 in Jeddah in which he would represent Pakistan,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 

Dar pointed out that Pakistan had also issued a strong statement on proposals to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, saying that they had all the right to their land.

Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, said despite limited resources Pakistan sent several consignments of relief goods to Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. He said Pakistan also hosted around 200 Palestinian medical students, allowing them to complete their medical education in Pakistani medical colleges.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and displaced almost all of Gaza’s 2 million population by laying waste to swathes of neighborhoods, schools and hospitals. A six-week uneasy truce announced on Jan. 19 between Hamas and Israel ended 15 months of war. 

Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The South Asian country regularly sent relief supplies for the people of Gaza during Israel’s 15-month war. 


Pakistan fined for slow over-rate in New Zealand defeat

Updated 20 February 2025
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Pakistan fined for slow over-rate in New Zealand defeat

  • ICC referees panel says skipper Mohammad Rizwan pleads guilty to offense
  • Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 60 runs in Champions Trophy 2025 opener 

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council on Thursday fined Pakistan five percent of their players’ match fee for a slow over-rate in the Champions Trophy defeat to New Zealand in Karachi.

New Zealand smashed 320-5 in their 50 overs with Pakistan bowled out for 260 in 47. 5 overs, losing by 60 runs on Wednesday.
“Pakistan have been fined five percent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand,” said an ICC statement.

Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Mohammad Rizwan’s side was ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

Rizwan pleaded guilty to the offense and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing, the ICC said.
“On-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Sharfuddoula, third umpire Joel Wilson and fourth umpire Alex Wharf levelled the charge,” the ICC added.

Pakistan now face arch rivals India in Dubai in a must win game on Sunday to keep their semifinal hopes alive from Group A.
Bangladesh are the other team in the group while Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan are in Group B.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals.

The Champions Trophy runs until March 9 in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.


Pakistani startup Edufi wins first prize at LEAP 2025 in Riyadh

Updated 20 February 2025
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Pakistani startup Edufi wins first prize at LEAP 2025 in Riyadh

  • Edufi wins Rocket Fuel Pitch International Competition by beating over 2,000 other companies
  • Education fintech streamlines borrowing process for students, helping them finance education

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani education fintech startup Edufi bagged first place at an international competition held recently during the four-day LEAP 2025 tech conference in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s state television said on Thursday, bagging $250,000 as cash prize after beating over 2,000 competitors.
The international tech conference was held from Feb. 9-12 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center in Malham. Among the highlights of the conference was the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition for startups, which provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to showcase innovative ideas to a global audience of investors and industry leaders.
Edufi streamlines the borrowing process for students, helping them finance their education. It does its own credit-vetting, then pays tuition for approved students who repay the loan on a monthly basis as they study. It won first prize at the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition last week.
“Aleena Nadeem from Pakistan has won first place and a cash prize of $250,000 at the International Information Technology Exhibition leap held recently in Saudi Arabia,” Pakistan Television (PTV) said in a report.
“This is the First time in the history of the Rocket Fuel Pitch International competitions that Pakistan has achieved this honor,” the state-run media said, adding that Edufi beat 2,000 competitors to win first prize.
Edufi’s founder and CEO Aleena Nadeem received the award at the ceremony held last week in Riyadh. An MIT graduate who interned at McKinsey during college and then worked in London for Goldman Sachs and Ventura Capital, Nadeem has been involved in education issues since she was in high school, as per Forbes. 
She was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2024 for her work with Edufi.


Pakistan sent 727,381 skilled laborers to Middle East, Europe in 2024 — state media

Updated 20 February 2025
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Pakistan sent 727,381 skilled laborers to Middle East, Europe in 2024 — state media

  • Majority of laborers employed in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Oman, says state media
  • Says move will increase workers’ remittances, diminish unemployment in Pakistan 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis sent 727,381 skilled laborers to Middle Eastern and European countries in 2024, state-run media reported on Thursday, saying that the “record number” of workers abroad would help diminish unemployment in the country and boost remittances.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries are key destinations for Pakistan’s skilled and unskilled workers, whose remittances are vital to the national economy as the country suffers a prolonged macroeconomic crisis. 

“According to official data, 727,381 skilled laborers have been sent abroad for employment,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report. 

“The majority of these laborers have been employed in countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Oman, with a significant number also working in European countries.”

The statement highlighted the role of the Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Ministry in sending a record number of skilled laborers abroad last year, crediting its success to “aggressive marketing strategies, improved facilitation and strengthened ties with international employers.”

It said the move would positively impact Pakistan’s economy as more workers abroad means increased remittances to the country and a reduction in unemployment.

“This landmark achievement was a shining testament to the government’s unwavering commitment to providing Pakistani workers with lucrative employment opportunities abroad,” APP added.

A senior Pakistani official said in February that the government was working to bridge the skills gap and enhance the global competitiveness of Pakistani workers, especially in the Middle East job market.

In January, Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain said Islamabad was focused on boosting the number of skilled Pakistanis heading to Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the need for innovative project management and well-trained labor.

Pakistan sends around one million skilled workers abroad annually to help reduce unemployment and boost foreign exchange reserves through remittances.