Business Prime Bank Q1 Profits rise by 17 per cent
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Prime Bank has posted 17 per cent growth in net profit for the three months to Highlights of the Financial Results March 31, 2022. · The Bank’s balance sheet expanded by 9 per cent to KShs. 129 Billion from The Bank grew its profit after tax to KShs. 768 Million from KShs. 655 Million KShs. 118 Billion recorded period in 2021. recorded in the same period last year. · The Bank’s Total Deposits stood at KShs. 99.7Billion with an increase of Managing Director Bharat Jani attributed the steady growth trajectory and about 10 per cent from KShs. 90.7 Billion. strong performance to the growth in customer deposits, reduction in non-performing loans as well as improved operational efficiencies. · Total Net Advances to customers stood at KShs. 37.2 Billion. “Going forward, the improved results signal a more energetic, renewed effort to do even better especially as we celebrate 30 years of service to our customers this financial year,” added Jani.
· The Core Capital of the Bank was at KShs. 24.7 Billion, against the statutory requirement of KShs. 1 Billion.· The Bank’s liquidity ratio stood at 79.6 per cent, well above the Central Bank of Kenya’s statutory requirement of 20 per cent.
Digital improvements can make or break ports www.blogs.worldbank.org | NICOLAS PELTIER-THIBERGE If you have made any major purchases in the last two years, it’s likely that you have personally felt the impact of the global supply chain crisis. Pandemic-induced spikes in consumer sales and labor shortages triggered artery-clogging nightmares for some of the world’s busiest ports. At the most serious end of the spectrum, this has contributed to food shortages. But maritime backlogs can delay the delivery of everything ranging from clothes to couches to cars. More than four-fifths of global merchandise trade (by volume) is carried by sea, and container trade has been growing at a faster rate than global GDP itself. How the maritime sector performs, as we have seen over the course of the past two years, is vital for international trade. Whenever there is friction in the maritime sector, it translates very quickly to shortages on shelves. Maritime ports are a key element in the cost of international trade for any country. Unfortunately, in many of the client countries of the World Bank, the “port” does not facilitate trade as much as impede it. The newest Container Port Performance Index, produced by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, helps understand which ports are performing well and which ones could benefit from improvements. The index measures 370 ports around the globe based on the time vessels needed to spend in port to complete workloads and ranks them to determine which of the world’s ports are the most efficient. In 2021, Ports in the Middle East took four of the top five spots, responding very well to the heavy volume growth and service volatility caused by impacts of the global pandemic . In particular, King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia topped the rankings after increasing its container volume by 31% in 2021. Its rapid growth and its consistent efficiency
provides some interesting cues for other countries example, Morocco’s Tangier-Mediterranean Port, looking to improve how well their ports perform. for instance, ranked 6th. Since established in 2007, Tangier-Mediterranean has become the largest port King Abdullah Port is the region’s first port to in the Mediterranean by adhering to international be owned, developed, and operated by the pri- standards and working to improve efficiency in port vate sector. Partnerships with well-known com- and vessel operations, traffic management, port cypanies such as Maersk and others have enabled ber security and IT data exchange and information. investments in the port’s infrastructure and technology. Recent upgrades such as the creation of Following a modernization plan of several hunan e-portal for entry permits, 24-hour X-ray in- dred million dollars, Cartagena Port in Colomspection capabilities, petrochemical warehous- bia ranked 12th in the CPPI, making for aning, efficient links to land transportation and the other notable story. The port offers digitized, world’s deepest berths for giant container ships. real-time information through a virtual tool as well as an electronic data interchange, automatWhile this success is not easily replicable, it is im- ed authorizations and smart container delivery. portant for more ports to harness the power of digital technology. Doing so would boost the per- The World Bank works with our client countries formance of the maritime sector and help address to improve their trade environments, and port many of the critical challenges it is currently facing. performance is a key part of this. With the CPPI, we aim to inform national governments, port authorities and operators, supra-national organizaThe creation of an efficient digital ecosystem would tions, and other public and private stakeholders go a long way in streamlining operations and facili- engaged in trade, logistics and supply chain sertating the exchange of data between shipping lines, vices about what it takes to become a top-performport services, cargo handling operations, clear- ing port. Based on this information, we can advise ance agencies, and with other transport networks. our client countries how they can modernize their Many developing countries can start climbing the ports, such as through efforts to digitize processes. ladder of digital transformation by standardizing documentation through a Maritime Single Win- The efficiency gains achieved by using digital techdow. Next, introducing a Port Community System nology are evident through the CPPI. But what and Port Management System, which help opti- the index doesn’t show is that better-coordinated mize, manage and automate logistics such as vessel use of digital technology would also result in safer traffic, cargo, inspections, permits and even waste. and more resilient supply chains, and lower emissions. All these factors are important for our cliLooking at the 2021 CPPI Rankings, we see sever- ent countries, and we hope that the information al upper- and lower-middle income countries’ ports conveyed through the CPPI results will encourlisted near the top of the rankings. Several of these age progress toward digital transitions at ports. have recognized the importance of digital modernization and invested in these improvements. For
TT 154 | May 31st - June 6th| 2022
