Pakistan’s banking industry stands on the brink of transformation, poised to embrace the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the digital era. As global banking undergoes a significant revolution, AI emerges as a key player in reshaping customer experiences, operational efficiency, and overall competitiveness. In this article, we explore how AI is set to revolutionise the future of banking in Pakistan. Revolutionising customer interactions AI, coupled with hyper-automation, is set to revolutionise customer interactions in the banking sector. With the advent of AI-powered chatbots, banks can offer personalised, efficient, and round-the-clock customer service. These intelligent assistants leverage Natural Language Processing…
Author: Sani-e-Mehmood Khan
Pakistan’s property sector is undergoing a profound transformation, thanks to innovative measures that enhance transparency, boost tax revenue, and instill confidence among investors. These initiatives enable easier finance access, support urban planning, and foster formal economy adoption, driving economic growth, job creation and sustainable development. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has spearheaded remarkable changes, aligning REITs regulations with global standards and introducing cost-efficient Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) structures, which have attracted investors and improved transparency, liquidity and stability in the real estate market. This article explores the key developments that are reshaping the REITs industry and driving…
Globally, there is an emerging trend of monitoring the corporate-communications at the Banks and the Financial Institutions. Even the messaging through personalized channels such as WhatsApp have now become a subject of surveillance and monitoring by the compliance wings of the banks and regulators across the globe. The regulators in the jurisdictions of UK, Germany and US are in the advanced stages of monitoring the communications between a Client a Banker The reported instances of staff-sackings over the pretext of “Undisclosed Communications” at Credit Suisse and Chase are also reshaping “how bankers’ talk to their clients” The recent examples of…
Roshan Digital Account has attracted more than half a billion dollars and phenomenal trust of Non-Resident Pakistan (NRP). The inflows mainly getting into Naya-Pakistan Certificates and such NRPs who use to send money to their homes through back-channel are also forced by ease-of-use and convenience to remit funds through RDA. RDA has played a central role in the appreciation of PKR by Rupees 10/- in a very short and flimsy period. As the money worth $20 billion would continue to find its way through RDA, the future of currency exchange in Pakistan seems be in doldrums. The launch of Roshan…
Pakistan ranks poorly on financial inclusion side, as according to SECP’s own data, only 210,000 retail investors have trading accounts and the number of active investors is about 100,000. This accounts for less than 0.1% of the population. Karachi houses over 50% CDC accounts whereas Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad are ranked as 2nd, third and fourth by having 19%, 9% and 2% of the CDC accounts. Capital Market development Infrastructure is a brain-scan of a regulator depicting the “care” for capital market and protecting the very interest an”investor”. India did not only create a self-corrective competitive playground, but also ensured…
K-Electric does have any fuel storage facility nor they have an agreement with SSGC/PSO, yet they threaten to resort to international court to sustain the exclusivity in causing pain by continuing with excessive and unannounced load-shedding in Karachi. Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed has constituted an Appellate Tribunal under Section 12A of 1997 for audit of Karachi Electric, and yet the Government has not yet appointed 10 members to conduct, oversee and steer a transparent audit. The impression, which broke out of the court that “whole system and state seems to be acting like servants to the elites who operate corporates…
The word on the street about New World Order is corona. The pandemic treated all the human beings, objects and economic systems equally and without any distinction of race, color or blood. All those, who stood steadfast during the times of isolations, whether individual or groups in nations were bestowed upon with a ‘distancing-gift’ by novel coronavirus. Each RED FLAGYL of coronavirus presents an opportunity for Pakistan. Playing its cards with alacrity and agility could bring dignity and much needed respect for Pakistan in the world post-coronavirus. This is for first time that kinship of dollar with debt and kinship…
Stock exchanges represents confidence of investors and industry. Pakistan Stock Exchange has least number of investors and issuers using the exchange platform to trade off savings and returns. Pakistan’s least position in the region was found out to be a further retreated-one, as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chief informed the standing committee of national assembly that for about 50,000 accounts were closed by investors in a year or so and for about 8-10 billions of investor’s money was eroded in a matter of few years. Pakistan Stock Exchange also has a smaller number of companies listed as compared to…
In less than 24 hours, a number of print and electronic-media has published reports/articles citing the impacts of Coronavirus on steel industry. Bloomberg in its latest story has talked about the fate of big orders, and anticipated delays. As the day of 9th Feb, 2020 is approaching closer, some steel producers outside China are cheering, while inside China are the worries over anticipated delays. China produces 55% of the world steel and Wuhan province is now a home to both the Coronavirus and 4% of the whole China’s steel making that also meets around 20Mt internal demand on a week-to-week…
On Jan 21, 2017 the PSX signed an agreement for the sale of 40 percent strategic shares in the Pakistan bourse with a Chinese consortium, comprising three Chinese exchanges — the China Financial Futures Exchange Company Limited (lead bidder), the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As a result, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) became first South Asian self-listed stock exchange on 29th of June 2017. Reforms and improved governance structure impressed upon MSCI to reclassify PSX from Frontier Markets to Emerging Markets in May 2017. KSE-100 Index made all-time high of 52,876 on 24th of May 2017 and…
On 17th day of September 2001, an ambitious article of mine was published in the Pakistan Gulf Economist. The title of article was “TECHNOLOGY, THE LAST OF OUR SURVIVAL”. At that particular time, I was taking part in one of Asia’s largest Software Development initiative, worth 60 million US dollars in the heart of the middle-east. The said article was written on a positive note, but with a sheer frustration as to why such big efforts and projects cannot be undertaken in Pakistan, given the fact that majority of the key players i.e. over 70 percent of the developers, business…
MSCI downgraded and relocated four Pakistani Stocks from its Index Series. The Stocks of MLCF and HONDA CAR were removed while LUCK and UBL were DOWNGRADED by-one NOTCH. Bloomberg carried out a special report and explained the circumstances which may lead towards an eventual downgrading of Pakistan Stock Exchange. This DOWNGRADING is feared because of increasing volatility, declining volumes and appreciating impact costs at PSX. BBC also took a note of this alarming situation and observed that “PSX was being run like a casino”, while a leading newspaper saw an elephant in the room. Higher Volatility without substantial volumes is…
Narrow Market Syndrome is a situation where few stocks, few intermediaries, and few Investors/Shareholders drive the major chunk of business. Evaporated Volumes, wider-spreads and vanished liquidity are the abetting conduits which deny exits and restrict entry to the very few investors who are still living in a forlorn hope that “Vibrancy will come to PSX SOME DAY” In terms of Average Daily Value Traded, we have reclaimed the position which used to be our normal outfit in late 1990. While the wider-spreads speak in volumes about the miniscule participation and rare Financial Inclusion. The Investor base of 250,000 (inclusive of…
Over a thousand points decline in KSE-100 index suggests that the Budget has failed to fetch the interest of Investor in the Capital Market. While political uncertainly and gruesome turmoil is keeping Investors away from the Market, the Shareholder of PSX are busy looking at new Management and gazing at latest Financial Results of PSX. The ostensible reason for a substantial decline in the PSX revenues is owing to a trend of decline in income from the areas of Exchange Operations, New Listings, Interest and Rental Incomes. However, a careful analysis would reveal that this decline of 32% in revenues…