Month: June 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has exonerated the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) from an applicable penalty with a warning to be careful in filing returns in the future.

Document available with Propakistani stated that the adjudicating department of SECP, in its order, disposed off the proceedings initiated vide show cause notice served upon ZTBL for defaults made in complying with the requirements of section 130 of the Companies Act 2017.

It is observed that the ZTBL has failed to file its annual returns for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 in violation of section 130 of the Act, Prima facie, the default attracted penal provisions as contained in sub-section (6) (b) of section 130 of the Act.

Failure observed in compliance with mandatory requirements of law necessitated action in terms of aforesaid provisions of law. Notice under section 479 (5) of the Act was, as such, served upon the company with the advice to show the cause as to why penalties, as laid down in terms of clause (b) of sub-section (6) ibid, should not be imposed, the document added.

Representative of the ZTBL submitted its written reply, appeared for the hearing, and pleaded that the annual return for the year 2017 on prescribed Form, ‘A’ on July 12, 2017, concerning the AGM held on May 30, 2017, has already been filed along with late filing fee.

Thereafter, AGMs for the years 2018 and 2019 could not be held as BoD is non-functional and does not meet the minimum requirements of members in terms of the Banks Nationalization Act 1974.

Annual returns for the years 2018 and 2019 have, however, since been filed on June 23, 2020, in compliance to provisions contained in section 130 of the Act Compassionate, view with relief under section 468 of the Act and with the commitment to be more careful in future was requested.

The adjudicating officer in its order stated that every company having a share capital or a company not having a share capital shall, in each year, prepare and file with the registrar an annual return containing the particulars in a specified form as on the date of the annual general meeting or, where no such meeting is held or if held is not concluded, on the last day of the calendar year to which it relates.

“The return needs to be filed with the registrar within thirty days from the date of annual general meeting held in the year, or where no such meeting is held or if held is not concluded, from the last day of the calendar year to which it relates,” he explained.

The provisions of sub-section (6) (b) of section 130 of the Act provides that any contravention or default in complying with requirements of this section shall be an offense liable to a penalty of level 1 on the standard scale.

Record and the submissions made during the hearings indicate that return for the year 2017 has already been filed. Besides, failure in filing the annual returns for the years 2019 & 2020 has since been mitigated. This, therefore, is a case of delay in filing. A late filing fee has also been paid.

In view of pleaded reasons, I think it appropriate to exonerate the company from an applicable penalty with a warning to be careful in the future and with the advice to adhere to the provisions of the Act in true letter and spirit.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Hubco – Pakistan’s largest independent power producer (IPP) – has announced the appointment of Kamran Kamal as its new CEO.

Kamran has succeeded Khalid Mansoor, who led the company for eight years. Kamran has already been a part of Hubco for the past six years as the CEO of Laraib Energy Limited, a hydel subsidiary of the company.

Previously, he held the position of Vice President China Power Hub Generation Company (CPHGC), a joint venture between HUBCO & China Power International Holding (CPIH). Kamran’s appointment as the new CEO (from within the company) is a testament to the confidence of Hubco’s shareholders in its home-grown talent.

“Pakistan’s energy landscape is full of possibilities. HUBCO’s unparalleled technical expertise, pioneering approach to business and strategic geographical presence provides us with a unique set of capabilities to realize these possibilities for our country,” said Kamran Kamal.

He added, “I am excited to lead HUBCO in transforming our approach to creating long-term shared value without ever losing sight of the future of our society.”

Kamran is a competent leader with over 18 years of progressive responsibility and leadership experience in energy, infrastructure, commodities, business development, and strategy. He has been responsible for large capital projects, building organizational capabilities, and for overall business delivery in both management roles – executive and Board.

Kamran holds a Master’s from Harvard and a BSE in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, USA.

Previously, Kamran was Commodities Trade Head, Engro EXIMP FZE, where he managed Fertiliser, Coal, Oilseeds, and Sugar Trading Portfolio. He led the company’s growth into new geographies and commodities portfolios. During his tenure at Engro, Kamran was also involved in major energy & infrastructure projects, including Thar Coal Mining & Power Plant, LNG Floating terminal, and RLNG based power plant.

Under Kamran’s leadership, HUBCO will focus on retaining its position as a market leader by focusing on renewables, merchant market model for the Power Sector, and diversification into sustainable solutions.

His understanding of the Power Sector, regulatory environment, and his experience of closely working with key external stakeholders will strengthen Hubco’s standing in the power sector.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued orders for the removal of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President, Arif Usmani, and the bank’s Chairman Board of Directors (BoD), Zubair Soomro.

The IHC ordered the government to remove the two officials with immediate effect. The court had reserved the verdict on a petition filed against the NBP president on June 2.

The petition was filed by citizens Syed Jahangir, Javed Iqbal, Fazal Raheem, and Latif Qureshi. It alleged that the NBP president’s appointment was contrary to the guidelines of the Public Sector (Appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines 2015.

The petitioners argued that the president of the bank had a physics degree, contrary to the requirement of a degree in banking and finance. This made him ineligible for the post of chief executive of the bank, the petition said.

The defense’s counsel argued that despite this fact, the bank had posted impressive profits during Usmani’s tenure as the president. Soomro’s lawyer had argued that the petition had malafide intentions, especially considering that the petitioners were not even affected by the appointments.

However, the court ruled that if the degree had no connection with a field, then a judge could also be appointed as a bank head.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistani Fintech startup Creditfix has announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in a round led by the venture capital fund, Insitor Partners Pte. Ltd.

The Singapore-based impact investment firm confirmed this as their inaugural investment into Pakistan.

The landmark deal is the first-of-its-kind in Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, marking the first-ever convertible loan financing from an international investor into a Pakistani company to be approved by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The unsecured convertible loan facility also has onboard local investors, ACT Group, and High Net Worth (HNW) individuals. The financing arrangement was announced on June 16, 2021, in Karachi, in the presence of representatives from Creditfix, Insitor Partners, Deosai Ventures, and ACT Group. Creditfix has also been assisted by StratLink, an emerging markets-focused financial advisory company.

With over 100 million people in Pakistan remaining unbanked, Creditfix was founded in 2018 to offer conventional and Shariah-based lending solutions and financial services, particularly targeting Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME).

By adopting new technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce the operating cost of disbursing loans, Creditfix utilizes its mobile application platform to underwrite and extend asset-backed, productive loans, starting from USD 60 to USD 6000.

The CEO and Founder of Creditfix, Owais Zaidi, while highlighting the significance of the deal structure, which promises to open more foreign funding avenues in Pakistan’s startup ecosystem said, “We are happy to work with our investors that share our vision of profitability with responsibility and are geared up to show our Risk at Scale ™ framework in action in Pakistan and East African market.”

Hammad Umer, the Pakistan Country Manager for Insitor Partners, a majority female-owned firm, said, “We believe CreditFix’s underwriting model can help transform how credit is delivered to micro and small entrepreneurs and self-employed persons. Our goal is to pave the way for cheaper, faster and equitable access to finance for all strata of society”.

He said, “The SBP has been instrumental in making this deal possible by granting special permission, which sets the ground for more foreign convertible loan transactions in the future. We are looking forward to announcing more investments into the ecosystem.”

Umer has been working closely with Creditfix to implement several impact indicators and ESG frameworks to validate and track their progress.

Nicholas Lazos, the Chief Investment Officer of Insitor, said, “Creditfix reinforces our long term commitment to Pakistan and is the first of many more investments into impactful businesses in the Country. We’re pleased to back a high quality team and their innovative approach to provide financial services to the masses.”

Shehryar Hydri, Managing Partner at Deosai Ventures, said, “Creditfix is the only Fintech that combines a field-tested proprietary credit scoring model and technology platform with deep knowledge of the consumer lending space. Their team has a unique founder market fit and we’re excited to help them scale during a historic boom for this sector.”

One of the most pressing areas when it comes to financial inclusion in Pakistan is the gender gap, with Pakistan recently ranked 153/156 on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2021.

Mehvish Owais, Creditfix’s spokesperson and shareholder said, “Our like-minded investors are cementing Creditfix’s mission to empower women in Pakistan through employment creation. Promoting responsible lending rates will pave the way for other Fintechs in the country and abroad to do the same.”

CreditFix is a Pakistan-based Fintech company founded in 2018. The company seeks to provide a financial identity and financial services to the unbanked population, with the aim of addressing the finance gap of millions of SMEs in the country – thereby promoting financial inclusion.

Insitor Partners is a Singapore-based impact investment firm with a mission to invest in pioneering entrepreneurs in emerging Asian markets that are serving the next billion consumers in low-income communities.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz, has said that Pakistan Halal Authority can make Pakistan an active player in the trillion-dollar halal food market through its effective implementation regime.

He highlighted that Pakistan has a nominal share in this emerging market which is mostly dominated by non-Muslim countries. He said this while chairing the 3rd Board of Governors meeting of the Pakistan Halal Authority.

Federal Minister emphasized that the mission of PHA must be to facilitate and promote trade and commerce of Pakistan’s Halal products in the national and international markets rather than collecting money.

He stated that there is a huge potential for Pakistan in the Halal Food market, and we can explore the avenues of exports in Malaysia and Gulf countries.

The meeting also approved the different agenda items. Federal Minister stressed that regular board meetings are of pivotal importance for the functioning of any organization. He directed that Board meetings of all the organizations of the Ministry should be held at regular intervals.

Source: Pro Pakistani