Wednesday, October 22 2025

Banking sector and capital market: NBP, NCCPL ink MoU to expand collaboration
National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand collaboration between the banking sector and capital market. Through this MoU, NBP aims to drive collaborative innovation across the banking and capital market landscape, reinforcing its commitment to inclusive growth, sustainable finance, and the development of diversified funding avenues for Pakistan’s economic progress. Under the agreement, NBP will explore several avenues for integration with NCCPL. These include acting as a Financier for Margin Trading, allowing the bank to support investors in purchasing eligible securities in the ready market.
Related news categories: business comm-banks economic-indicators investment-copr psx stock-exchanges
Related symbols: nbp (news stock)

IGI Investments seeks to acquire Akzo Nobel Pakistan
IGI Investments (Private) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IGI Holdings Limited, has received in-principle approval from its Board of Directors to evaluate the potential acquisition of up to 100% shareholding in Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited. IGI Holdings, the parent company, disclosed the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday. The company said that the board, in its meeting held on October 21, authorized the management to evaluate and conduct a due diligence for the purchase of upto 98.3% shareholding from ICI Omicron B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Akzo Nobel NV and upto 1.7% shareholding from minority shareholders of Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited.
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Related symbols: akzo (news stock) igihl (news stock)

Friday, October 03 2025

Targeted mechanisms urged to boost Raast adoption
State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah emphasised the need to address real market demands through targeted mechanisms that support merchants. He was speaking at the launch of the report Merchant Payments on Raast: Responsibly Pricing for Impact and Inclusion. The report, released under the United Nations-backed Better Than Cash Alliance, focuses on building an ecosystem that encourages a shift from cash to Raast. However, the question remains: who will bear the cost of incentives and pricing? The business case for moving away from cash to Raast peer-to-merchant (P2M) payments is strong. More than 85pc of all transactions, worth trillions of rupees annually, still occur in cash. This reliance on physical currency imposes an estimated economic burden of Rs3-4 trillion ($10-14bn) each year, or about 4-5pc of GDP.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators investment-copr