Business

BOP reports best ever first-half results as profit after tax up 40pc

Published

2 months ago

August 29, 2026

Bilal

The Bank of Punjab (BOP) has declared its best ever operating performance for the first half of 2026 with operating profit reaching 67 percent year on year to Rs22.5 billion.

Net interest income grew 29 percent to Rs46.1 billion and non-markup revenue excluding gains grew 61 percent to Rs11.9 billion. The bank also announced its largest interim dividend on record – 16 percent in cash – in a sign of its continuing earnings growth and payments to shareholders.

The Board of Directors of BOP has examined and approved the unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2026. The results show continued commercial growth, rigorous cost control and enhanced revenue diversity throughout the bank’s activities.

Highlights at a Glance 1st Half 2026

Financial Performance Year-on-Year Growth Net Interest Income Rs46.1 billion (+29%)
Non-Markup Income Rupees 11.9 billion (+61%)
Operating Profit Rs22.5 billion (+67%)
Profit Before Tax Rs20.5 billion (+35%)
Profit After Tax Rs 9.5 billion (+40%)

Earnings growth

During the period, BOP’s earnings before tax was up 35 percent year on year to Rs20.5 billion while profit after tax was 40 percent to Rs9.5 billion.

The bank said the superior earnings performance was due to active asset-liability management, higher fee-based income and more diversified revenues. Disciplined expense control and enhanced operational efficiency also underpinned profitability, with the cost-to-income ratio improving by 2.40 percentage points throughout the first half of 2025.

The bank’s financial standing was sound, with total assets of Rs2,504 billion in the time. Total deposits were Rs2,154 billion, backed by 20 percent YoY growth in current deposits. Average current deposits grew much more strongly, at 26 percent.

BOP has increased its lending operations with total advances also up by 28 percent to Rs996 billion. “The bank continued to support economic activity through disciplined lending. “The loans include financing for important sectors of the economy.

It was well capitalised relative to regulatory standards. The capital adequacy ratio was 13.69 percent and the leverage ratio was 3.65 percent. BOP also completely complied with the provisioning requirements under IFRS9.

Strategic Growth

In 2026, the bank was given a significant boost to its credit status when the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) raised its long-term entity rating to AAA, the highest possible rating, with a Stable Outlook. The upgrading is a reflection of the development of BOP’s financial profile, market position, risk management and governance structure.

BOP is also expanding its international activities as it received in-principle approval from the State Bank of Pakistan to establish an Overseas Wholesale Banking Unit in Bahrain. The new business is designed to increase the bank’s cross-border banking capabilities, improve regional connections and foster institutional links across the Middle East.

Another noteworthy development is the proposed issuing of ordinary shares to the Government of Punjab for an amount of up to PKR30 billion. The idea, which still requires shareholder and regulatory clearances, would be carried out in two stages.

The proposal is for up to PKR20 billion to be infused by December 31, 2026 with the rest to be subscribed by June 30, 2027. The proposed equity support would enhance the bank’s ability to expand its balance sheet, and provide greater flexibility for strategic growth.

Banking awards

BOP has bagged three honours at Pakistan Banking honours 2026 winning the Best Bank for Agriculture Inclusion, Best SME Bank and Best Bank for Women’s Inclusion.

It is the third consecutive year that the bank has been recognised in both the agriculture and women’s inclusion awards and the fourth time it has won the SME award in five years.

BOP said it is the only bank to have received three prizes for two consecutive years and the only bank to have achieved what it characterised as a unique vertical and horizontal hat-trick throughout the accolades.

The bank remains a financial partner to the Government of Punjab, supporting public welfare programs, priority-sector financing and wider development efforts. It offers traditional and digital banking services to individuals, farmers, SMEs, corporate customers and public-sector entities, with a growing national footprint and a focus on financial inclusion.

Business

India’s Jio IPO opens for public bids in record $3.2 billion sale

Published

19 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Bilal

Jio Platforms’ (JIOP.NS) $3.2 billion IPO launches on Wednesday, testing demand for India’s largest share sale to date and the first from billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance (RELI.NS) conglomerate in two decades.

The Jio Platforms IPO will be a crucial test of global appetite for fresh share offerings at a time when investors have tightened their examination of AI-related companies which some analysts think might see them shifting away from the technology.

Jio Platforms, the parent of India’s biggest telecom firm with over 500 million subscribers, backed by Meta, Google and institutional investors, is the world’s second-largest telecom operator in a single country behind China Mobile.

The IPO values Jio Platforms at up to $108.3 billion, possibly making it one of India’s biggest corporations by market valuation when trading kicks out on October 28. About a third of the shares on offer are allocated for retail investors.

Jio Platforms this week allocated $853 million worth of shares to global and local investors including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and BlackRock, after the reserved part for such investors attracted bids of more than $25 billion.

LAUNCH DATES FESTIVE

Retail investors and Reliance’s employees and stockholders will get a chance to join in the offering that closes Friday and has a price range of 1,065 to 1,119 rupees a share.
The IPO is Reliance’s first since 2006 and is larger than previous huge offerings such as Hyundai Motor India (HYUN.NS), opens new tab, and National Stock Exchange (NSEI.BO).

The plans were also delayed in 2025, when Ambani first said he planned to list in five years in 2019. A filing in as early as March was stymied by the Iran war sapping IPO enthusiasm.

Ambani’s son Akash runs Jio Platforms’ telecom company, which started in 2016 with the gamble that Indians would use the internet a lot more if it cost virtually nothing. It quickly seized market share from rivals like Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS), opens new tab and Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS), opens new tab with cheap data and free voice calls.

Jio Platforms is selling its IPO in the middle of a Hindu festive season, seen as a lucky time for buying, although Indian markets have been dull in recent weeks.

Reliance this month also paid pay cheques approximately 15 days early to its more than 400,000 employees and in recent weeks helped expedite share account opening services to people interested in applying for the IPO, said a person in the business with direct knowledge of the situation.

Reliance did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

For the year ending in March, Jio Platforms posted a profit of $3.2 billion on revenue of $15.5 billion. Its telecoms division alone accounted for over 90% of those figures.

Business

Pakistan borrows Rs1,514bn in first quarter of FY2026-27

Published

19 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Bilal

Documents of the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that the government borrowed Rs1,514 billion during first quarter of the current fiscal year 2026-27, July-September including Rs1,037 billion in September alone.

The data show that the government borrowed around Rs913 billion more in September 2026 than in September 2025.

The documents showed that the government sold $3 billion worth of bonds in September. Of this, $1.75 billion of bonds have an interest rate of 7.5% and the rest $1.25 billion have an interest rate of 7.9%. The bonds will maturity in 2036.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs said the revenues from the issuing of the $3 billion bond could be utilised for budget support, with the Ministry of Finance as the executing agency. The amount is around Rs818 billion in local currency.

Besides the bonds, the government borrowed Rs17 billion through non-project finance, which comprises budget support and short-term loans.

“The documents also revealed that the government obtained $5.44 billion in foreign loans and grants from July to September. This was up $3.63 billion from the $1.81 billion received in the same time of the last fiscal year.

In the first quarter, the government also obtained a $300 million medium-term financing arrangement from an international commercial bank.

The Economic Affairs Division said the funds mobilised through the Naya Pakistan Certificates had witnessed a massive surge during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. During the period, Naya Pakistan Certificates worth $942.7 million were issued.

Business

PSX gains over 400 points at opening

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2026

Bilal

— The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off on a bullish note on Tuesday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index rising more than 400 points in early trade.

The index rose to 166,425 points at the start of the second trading session of the business week, indicating better market performance.

The KSE-100 Index closed down 453 points at 165,966 points in the last trading session.

The benchmark index turned positive during early trading after falling in the previous session. The latest gains were made as the benchmark index went into positive territory during early trading.