Health insurance in Balochistan

State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) Health Card Program was officially launched in Balochistan this week, ensuring healthcare accessibility for all 2.3m families, as per a press release. Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki, Chief Minister of Balochistan, inaugurated the province’s health card programme where Amir Muhammad Khan Jogezai, Health Minister of Balochistan and Shoaib Javed Hussain, CEO of State Life Insurance Corporation, also graced the event.

Gas reform support

APTMA fully supports the government’s decision on gas/RLNG pricing reforms, according to its press release. It will unlock export potential and drive positive sentiment for textile exporters as exports of goods in October 2023 were already up by $639m compared to July 2023. Reforms in gas/RLNG pricing will help ease the burden of the textile industry’s crisis by allowing the government to ensure an adequate gas supply throughout the country. They will also provide much-needed certainty regarding availability and provide exporters with a forward-looking view regarding the processing of export orders.

Financing small farmers

Fatima Fertilizer, Pakistan’s leading fertiliser manufacturing company, and Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, have signed an agreement to modernise Pakistan’s agricultural ecosystem by ensuring financial inclusion of farmers, states a press release. This strategic collaboration will leverage the latest technologies to digitise payment transactions between a nationwide network of thousands of fertiliser dealers and the farmer community.

OGDCL’s results

The Oil & Gas Development Company Limited further solidified its position as the market leader, achieving net sales revenue of Rs414bn, according to a press release. This translated to a profit after tax of Rs225bn, showing a robust increase of 59pc compared to last year’s profit. The board announced a final cash dividend of Rs2.75 per share, in addition to the interim dividends already paid at Rs5.80 per share.

Developing REIT market

IMARAT Group announces the establishment of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) management company (RMC), as per a press release. This is a precursor to IMARAT’s launching its own REIT next year. The newly established REIT management company will initially incorporate four projects from IMARAT Group’s 15 projects.

BoP’s profit jump

The Bank of Punjab earned a before-tax profit of Rs5.03bn in the third quarter of the fiscal year, a massive rise of 178pc compared to the second quarter, as per a press release. During the quarter, the bank’s net interest margin (NIM) also improved to Rs10.68bn as against Rs9.65bn during the second quarter of 2023.

The bank’s investment portfolio has the potential to substantially improve the bank’s NIM on account of the repricing of investments in government securities.

Marketing dragon

Synergy Advertising won the Black Dragon Award for the Best Brand Building and/or Awareness Campaign, as per a press release. This recognition comes as a testament to their excellence in creativity and strategy for the “Quaid Kay Habib” campaign, executed on behalf of Habib Metropolitan Bank Pakistan. The 2023 Dragons of Asia Marketing Communications Industry Awards, held in Malaysia, celebrated the outstanding achievements and innovations in the world of marketing communications.

TDAP’s training

TDAP organised an awareness session for the exporters in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan last week, as per a press release. More than 150 exporters attended the training. The objective of the training was to create awareness among the exporters about the initiative being taken by SBP to facilitate the exporters. The targeted sessions were focused on SBP’s Export Facilitation Desk and its complaints redressal mechanism, making import payments through Non-Resident Accounts, and the facilitation of payments via the Asian Clearing Union.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, November 6th, 2023