Business

SBP offers interest-free loans to women for starting business

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Central bank’s decision to back those starting their own businesses.
SBP official says women can support families via this opportunity.
Bank will provide interest-free loans up to Rs0.5 million.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: In its bid to ensure economic stability and female participation in the workforce, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is offering interest-free loans to unemployed women to start their large-scale businesses.

The central bank’s Dera Ismail Khan Deputy Chief Manager Fazal Muqeem made the announcement while addressing participants of a seminar ‘Women bankability and banking on equality’ at the Government Polytechnic Institute for Women in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday.

Women, Muqeem said, will be able to support their families by starting their own businesses. He said the current wave of inflation has impacted the entire society and social strata. The SBP official added that it gets difficult for the poor to manage their everyday expenses due to their income resources.

The employment opportunities are also limited in the country, therefore starting of own business is the only way to handle such a situation, he added. He informed that the prime minister introduced different policies with the support of the central bank to make unemployed women productive citizens.

Under these policies, the bank accounts of unemployed women were being opened along with men on an equal basis so that they could be provided with interest-free loans up to Rs0.5 million.

Addressing the seminar, Assistant Director Muhammad Zubair said that today’s era is of digital mobile app and citizens must take benefit from this facility. He said the citizens should become income tax filers which would make them avoid many taxes.

On this occasion, GPI for Women Principal Sara Khan thanked the guests from the SBP. She said their institution was working to make its students skillful so that they could become self-sufficient and useful citizens of society.

She said many women would benefit from this SBP’s policy in the future. She expressed the hope that such type of useful seminars would be organised in the future so that poor and eligible women of DIK could benefit.

On this occasion, GPI for women Principal Sarah Khan, SBP Dera Ismail Khan Assistant Chief Manager Muhammad Amir Ejaz, Assistant Director Muhammad Zubair, Rizwanullah Shah, GPI (women) Placement Officer Zafar Awan, a good number of teachers and female students were present on the occasion.

Business

Pakistan resolves to meet benchmarks, and the IMF promises economic help.

Published

45 seconds ago

Farwa

In the midst of an ongoing economic review, the delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has promised Pakistan economic cooperation.

In order to assess the delivery of a $1 billion tranche under the $7 billion rescue deal, IMF officials are now in Pakistan.

Today, March 14, marks the completion of the two-week-long economic review and negotiations between the global lender’s representatives and Pakistani authorities.

The team met with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Ministry of Finance for the last round of negotiations.

The nation’s economic team’s actions and performance were praised by the visiting officials.

Aurangzeb promised the IMF during the conference that all economic goals would be met. He said that as long as the loan program is in place, no goals would be broken.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

4 days ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

4 days ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.