Tag: financial institutions

  • IMF praises Pakistan’s economic progress and stability efforts 

    IMF praises Pakistan’s economic progress and stability efforts 

    The Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bahador Bijani, acknowledged a positive trend in the economic landscape of Pakistan, highlighting the effective measures taken by the authorities. 

    The statement was made during an event hosted by Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, bringing together representatives from key international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the IMF, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) at Pakistan House. 

    Expressing optimism, Bijani highlighted Pakistan’s significance regionally and globally, asserting that the nation merits enhanced prospects.  

    This observation coincides with Pakistan’s current status under a caretaker government while participating in an ongoing IMF programme. 

    Nathan Porter, IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan, addressed the assembly of over 40 IFI representatives, expressing contentment with the recently concluded staff-level agreement.  

    Porter praised the interim government’s actions and policies, underscoring their dedication to steering the country towards stability. He expressed the hope that this foundation would enable the pursuit of reforms for a more robust, prosperous, and inclusive Pakistan. 

    Porter further commended the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for its cooperative efforts and policies aimed at ensuring fiscal stability in the country.  

    Athanasios Arvanitis, Deputy Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF expressed optimism that the upcoming elections in February would bring about the necessary reforms for Pakistan’s progress. 

    Syed Ali Abbas, Advisor Mission Chief UK, European Department at the IMF, echoed similar sentiments, anticipating a more enduring approach following the successful completion of the electoral process. 

    Ambassador Masood Khan underscored the transformative impact of Pakistan’s economic digitization, emphasising the emergence of new opportunities for the youth and professionals in steering the nation towards a promising future. 

    Khan asserted that Pakistan, as a nation of talented individuals, has the potential for significant accomplishments.  

    The statement aligns with earlier commendations from Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, who lauded the Pakistani government for its adept handling of economic stability and timely implementation of reforms earlier this month. 

  • Massive data breach: 2.2 million Pakistani citizens’ personal information for sale online

    Massive data breach: 2.2 million Pakistani citizens’ personal information for sale online

    According to a report from Geo News, the personal data of 2.2 million Pakistani citizens has been compromised and put up for sale online. This breach occurred when hackers gained unauthorised access to a private company-made database that is utilised by hundreds of restaurants. 

    The hackers have even gone so far as to display some citizens’ data as samples in their online sale advertisement. In their claim, the hackers asserted, “We have hacked the databases of over 250 restaurants,” and they listed numerous food outlets. 

    The compromised citizen data includes contact numbers and credit card details. The affected software is widely used by many restaurants across the country. Furthermore, details such as the number of transactions and the amounts paid by citizens are available for purchase online. 

    The hackers are demanding 2 Bitcoins in exchange for the compromised citizen data, which equates to approximately $54,000, considering that one Bitcoin is valued at $27,000 based on market sources. In Pakistani rupees, this amounts to over Rs15 million. 

    As of now, the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FBR) cybercrime circle has not received any complaints regarding this incident. 

    It is worth noting that the federal government recently issued a directive advising all information technology (IT) and financial institutions, including regulators, to avoid collaborating with, installing, or using Indian-origin artificial intelligence (AI) and information and communication technology (ICT) products.  

    This advisory was issued due to concerns that these products could pose a constant, concealed, and force multiplier threat to Pakistan’s critical information infrastructure (CII). 

    The government shared this cybersecurity advisory with federal and provincial ministries and sectoral regulators. The advisory highlighted that globally, AI products and services are widely employed by various industries, including the financial and banking sectors, to accelerate their growth. 

    The document also noted that the fintech sector in Pakistan, along with some banks, was engaged with Indian-origin companies that offered IT products, cybersecurity solutions, and AI solutions.  

    The use of Indian security products and solutions was considered a potential threat to Pakistan’s CII, particularly the banking sector, due to the possibility of backdoors or malware collecting logs, data traffic analysis, and personal identifiable information (PII).  

    Additionally, it pointed out the risk of direct Indian ingress into Pakistan’s CII through technical means and access control with passive monitoring capability. 

  • IMF asks for more effort from Pakistan, loan programme in jeopardy

    IMF asks for more effort from Pakistan, loan programme in jeopardy

    Despite assurances from friendly countries regarding external funds for Pakistan, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remains unconvinced and is asking Islamabad to make additional efforts to unlock a loan programme.

    According to sources, Pakistan has been requested to present a repayment plan for a $3.7 billion loan to the IMF in June and to demonstrate stronger support from friendly nations to fulfill this obligation.

    However, the IMF has not yet accepted a proposal to exchange reserves worth between $11 to $12 billion, equivalent to two months’ revenues. The Ministry of Finance has stated that the government has imposed Rs170 billion in taxes through a mini-budget to secure a staff-level agreement with the IMF, which was initially scheduled for February 9th.

    It is noteworthy that the IMF has not included Pakistan in any agenda until May 17th. The budget-making process may also be affected if transactions with the IMF are not concluded, as funding will not be available from international financial institutions without a staff-level agreement.

    Last month, the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund was postponed due to the lender’s new demand.

    Finance Secretary Hamid Yakoob’s meeting with the International Monetary Fund in the United States did not yield positive results as the lender requested the arrangement of $1 billion from commercial banks to unlock the loan program.

    The staff-level agreement, originally scheduled for February 9th, was delayed due to the IMF’s demands.

  • EU removes Pakistan from its high-risk third countries list

    EU removes Pakistan from its high-risk third countries list

    The European Union (EU) has officially removed Pakistan from its “List of High-Risk Third Countries” due to the country’s successful implementation of measures to address the strategic deficiencies in their Anti Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. This means that Pakistani businesses and individuals will no longer be subjected to “Enhanced Customer Due Diligence” by the EU’s legal and economic operators.

    According to the delegated regulation, Pakistan has remedied the strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime and no longer poses a significant AML/CFT threat to the international financial system. This decision has led to the removal of Pakistan from the list of nations with strategic deficiencies in their respective AML/CFT frameworks, and they do not pose a significant threat to the financial system of the European Union.

    As a result of this decision, the “Obligated Entities” in EU member states would no longer be required to apply “Enhanced Customer Due Diligence” while dealing with individuals and legal entities established in Pakistan. The “Obligated Entities” include credit institutions, financial institutions, natural or legal persons acting in the exercise of their professional activities, auditors, external accountants, tax advisors, notaries, and other independent legal professionals.

    Pakistan was initially included in the “List of High-Risk Countries” on October 22, 2018, by the EU. However, the decision to remove Pakistan from the list will add to the comfort level of European economic operators and is likely to ease the cost and time of legal and financial transactions by Pakistani entities and individuals in the region. The UK had previously removed Pakistan from its high-risk list in November 2022.