PRO 16-11-2012_Layout 1 11/16/2012 2:19 AM Page 1
Friday, 16 November, 2012
Thumbs up for SBP! g
$1.1m for Teletaleem
State Bank of Pakistan’s regulatory role in microfinance, branchless banking recognised KARACHI
S
APP
TATE Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has gained international recognition for its regulatory role in microfinance and branchless banking by creating an enabling environment for their development in Pakistan. The world-renowned newspaper, Financial Times and the World Bank have praised SBP for its innovative approaches in expanding the access to financial services for the unbanked and underserved population of the country. A spokesman of the SBP said here on Thursday that an article published in Financial Times on November 6 says: `Pakistan has one of the best regulatory environments in the world for microfinance and one of the fastest-growing microfinance sectors, with three million borrowers. It is also one of the most innovative places in the world for mobile banking services, partly due to the State Bank of Pakistan’s moves to encourage the market’. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) of the World Bank in its recent publication has also highlighted Pakistan as the fastest growing branchless banking market in the world and a laboratory of innovation. SBP has been playing a leading role while working closely with the industry through various policy and strategic ini-
tiatives to transform the financial market into an equitable system of efficient market-based financial services to the hitherto excluded poor and marginalized segments of the society. It may be mentioned here that the SBP has moved beyond its traditional role for modernizing the market infrastructure and improving risk management framework for microfinance industry, the SBP spokesman added. In particular, SBP has invested substantially for establishing microfinancespecific Credit Bureau, launching nation-wide Financial Literacy Program, carrying out various market surveys and
studies, transforming Microfinance Banks (MFBs), and channeling Rs. 6 billion commercial funding for MFBs through credit enhancement mechanism for lending to new borrowers. The central bank is also supporting capacity building and innovations through smart subsidies for microfinance players and larger financial services providers under the DFID-funded Financial Inclusion Program (FIP). As a result of these efforts of SBP, ten microfinance banks are now operating in the country. The MFBs have also strengthened their capital base through capital injection, and are now well-cap-
italized. All MFBs are privately owned by local and international investors including banks, development agencies, investment funds, mobile network operators, and large domestic Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). This diversity of ownership and approaches depicts confidence in policy consistency and viability of microfinance sector. With the commencement of business by Waseela MFB (sponsored by M/s Orascom / Mobilink), now three large scale branchless banking deployments are operating in the country. The retail network of banking and microfinance has also risen overwhelmingly through agents and mobile phone channels. The agent network now exceeds 30,000 and is currently processing almost 10 million transactions each month, and the growth continues apace. It may be pointed out here that the success of branchless banking is only a beginning of a new retail banking revolution in the country. SBP has also been continuously working on multiple models to accommodate interest of diverse players. This approach has already facilitated a number of leading banks and telecoms which have now entered or entering in the space of branchless banking. These developments fuel the expectation that transformational branchless banking (BB) models would prove a game-changer in improving access to finance in Pakistan.
LSM grows 4.06% in September, 1.85% in 1st quarter ISLAMABAD APP
The country’s Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) has registered positive growth of 1.85 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year over the corresponding period of the last financial year. On year-on-year basis, the LSM grew by 4.06 percent during the month of September 2012 when compared to the same month of last year, according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The Quantum Index Numbers (QIN) of LSM stood at 105.67 points during July-September (2012-13) against 103.74 points during July-September (2011-12). During the period under review, in-
dustries monitored by Oil Companies Advisor Committee (OCAS) registered increase of 0.25 percent growth while the indices of Ministry of Industries grew by 0.29 percent and that of Provincial Bureaus of Statistics by 1.31 percent. The manufacturing items that witnessed growth during the first quarter over the same period of last year included iron beverages ad tobacco (6.47%), Iron and Steel products (16.07%), coke and petroleum products (3.41%), paper and board (35.97%), chemicals (6.15%), rubber products (33.06%), pharmaceuticals (4.09%), non-metallic mineral products (4.20%) and leather products (5.56%). The manufacturing items that witnessed decrease in production during the period included fertilizers (26.98%),
ADB provides $1.1 million grant to propel Pakistan’s Teletaleem project g
electronics (3.75%), textile (0.39%), wood products (12.43%), engineering products (13.48%) and automobiles (1.63%). Meanwhile, the industrial growth during September 2012 increased by 4.06 percent but decreased by 1.10 percent when compared to the growth of September 2011 and August 2012 respectively. The manufacturing items that witnessed growth in September 2011 over the same month of last year included beverages ad tobacco (9.83%), Iron and Steel products (29.41%), coke and petroleum products (14.03%), paper and board (44.69%), chemicals (4.37%), rubber products (17.09%), pharmaceuticals (3.44%), non-metallic mineral products (14.78%) and leather products (36.02%).
ISLAMABAD ONLINE
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a technical assistance (TA) grant of US$ 1.1 million to Pakistan’s TeleTaleem (Pvt.) Limited to boost access to quality education and vocational training in Pakistan using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). “This project will open new vistas of online learning opportunities for students and teachers, currently without access to quality educational and training resources. With a click of a button, students will be able to avail quality educational services regardless of their geographic location. The project will hugely benefit students and teachers, particularly girls in remote parts of the country who seek access to good educational opportunities,” said Philip Erquiaga, Director General of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. Leveraging Pakistan’s fast growing ICT sector, TeleTaleem will provide ICT-assisted advanced learning environment to service basic education and technical education and vocational training (TEVT) segments. The company plans to setup 500 learning centers/points-of-access over the next 5 years, reaching out to 100,000 students and 10,000 teachers across the country. Werner E. Liepach, ADB’s Country Director for Pakistan, and Asad Karim, Chief Executive Officer of the TeleTaleem (Pvt.) Limited, today signed the TA implementation agreement. This is ADB’s first-ever private-sector led investment in an education project. Pakistan has made impressive gains over the last decade with spectacular ICT growth through the use of mobile phones, Internet and personal computers in the urban, semiurban and the rural areas. TeleTaleem will be using this widespread ICT footprint to deliver exciting and engaging teaching-learning practices and content to students and teachers, with the objective of enhancing student achievement and teacher competency. ADB’s TA grant will also study gaps, issues and opportunities to expand the use of ICT for education by defining appropriate strategies frameworks and financially selfsustaining development and marketing plans, to achieve large scale adaptation. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2011, ADB approvals including cofinancing totaled $21.7 billion.
NFC AWARD DISTORTED EVERYTHING! Finance Ministry admits 7th NFC award swelled fiscal deficit, borrowing ISLAMABAD ONLINE
The Ministry of Finance and Revenue has admitted that following the 7th National Finance Commission Award (NFC), the country’s fiscal deficit and borrowing have swelled to am alarming position. Advisor to ministry of Finance and Revenue Assad Amin stated this during the meeting of Senate Standing committee on Finance and Revenue that met here on Thursday with Senator Nasreen Jalil in the chair. Giving briefing to the committee Rana Assad Amin informed that under 7th NFC award 70 per cent of the resources are being transferred to the provinces and the remaining 30 per cent resources are being utilized by the federal government. He said that during current fiscal year 2012-13 an amount of
Rs.1450 billion will be transferred to provinces against Rs.1200 billion transferred in the same period last year. During financial year 2010-11 an amount of Rs.1000 billion were transferred to provinces. During briefing, Assad Amin told the committee that currently, saving ratio was 9.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was 12 per cent two years back. He said saving ratio has been decreased mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, 80 to 85 per cent income consumed without saving while the second reason was that an amount of Rs.2 trillion is out of circulation which was needed to be brought in banking channel. He however said that the government was making all-out efforts to bring this amount in banking channel by introducing various National Saving schemes. He informed that the Central Directorate
of National Savings (CDNS) is all set to launch student welfare bond scheme from today (Friday) which will help generate Rs.1200 billion. Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour re-
marked that banks have no amount to provide to the private sector for businesses as government has been taking huge loans from banking sector. “Corporate sector should not be dis-
turbed by the government by taking huge loans to run the affairs of the government,”Sentor Hamayun Khan Mandokhail said, adding that government was needed to raise its revenue instead taking loans from banking sector. On this, Rana Assad Amin admitted that the government’s huge borrowing has left nothing for the private sector to take loans from the banks. He said the overall releases of People Works program two has been made in the first 3 months of current financial year 2012-13. Director General (DG) Debt ministry of Finance Masroor Qureshi accepted that loans has doubled in last 5 years; however said that the repayment of loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would not affect fiscal position of county as it will be repaid from foreign currency reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan(SBP).