Pakistan Banao Certificates
Pakistan Banao Certificates (PBC) have been launched by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 31
st January 2019, providing Pakistani diaspora abroad with an attractive investment opportunity which offers stabilized returns on investment. Federal Government of Pakistan is the issuer of PBC through State Bank of Pakistan.
Purpose:
To lower the burden of loans from international financial institutions to support balance of payments & build up foreign exchange reserves, necessary infrastructure, power and social projects, the Government of Pakistan has launched PBC to provide overseas Pakistanis a secured investment opportunity with flexible terms of investment and attractive rates of returns. It is pertinent to mention here that USA offers 2.49% and 2.875% on 3 years and 5 years US bonds respectively and Saudi Arabia offers 2.89% and 3.5% to 4% respectively on 3 years and 5 years bonds respectively. On the other hand, PBC offer 6.25% and 6.75% on 3 years and 5 years maturity respectively.
Salient Features:
Salient features of the certificates are as follows:
Sr. No. |
Features |
Description |
1 |
Denomination |
Minimum US$ 5,000 with no maximum limit |
2 |
Issuer |
Federal Government of Pakistan through State Bank of Pakistan |
3 |
Type |
Scripless (system where settlement is carried out via book-entries rather than by the movement of physical securities) |
4 |
Maturity Period |
3 and 5 years |
5 |
Eligible Investors |
CNIC, NICOP and POC holders |
6 |
Source of Funds |
Remittance through official banking channels from an account maintained abroad |
7 |
Profit Rate |
- 6.25% per annum on 3 years Certificates
- 6.75% per annum on 5 years Certificates
|
8 |
Profit Payment |
Semi-annually in investor’s nominated UD$ account maintained in country of residence or in Pakistan |
9 |
Encashment |
- Allowed in PKR any time
- Premature encashment in US$ shall be allowed after one year. In case of premature encashment in US$ before lapse of one year, a deduction of 1% shall be made [SRO 97(I)/2019 dated 25th January 2019 published in the Gazette of Pakistan]
|
10 |
Redemption |
- In US$, in investor’s nominated account in country of residence or in Pakistan
- In PKR, at prevailing exchange rate with an additional amount equal to 1% in investors nominated PKR account in Pakistan [SRO 97(I)/2019 dated 25th January 2019 published in the Gazette of Pakistan]
|
11 |
Tax |
Profit payment in respect of the certificates shall be exempted from the deduction of withholding tax [SRO 97(I)/2019 dated 25th January 2019 published in the Gazette of Pakistan] |
12 |
Zakat |
No compulsory deduction on the certificates as per requirement of the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1980 (XVIII of 1980) [SRO 97(I)/2019 dated 25th January 2019 published in the Gazette of Pakistan] |
13 |
Website |
www.pakistanbanaocertificates.gov.pk
www.sbp.org.pk/dmmd/2019/C2.htm |
Operational Mechanism:
Steps of operational mechanism of Pakistan Banao Certificates are as follows:
- Creation of profile on the portal mentioned above.
- Investors will be registered automatically on the portal after verification of their CNIC/NICOP/POC by NADRA.
- Provision of Bank Account details and investment request on the portal.
- On completion of step (3), the investor will get a unique reference number for remittance of funds to the Pakistan Banao Certificates Bank Account at National Bank of Pakistan, New York.
- Investors can remit funds from their own designated bank accounts only.
- Screening of the applicant for United Nations Security Council (UNSC), European Union (EU), Bank of England (BOE) and office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list for clearance.
- Funds of those applicants will be accepted, who clear the screenings mentioned in step (6).
- State Bank of Pakistan, upon confirmation of receipt of funds, will issue the security and inform the investor.
- The investors can view the status of their investment applications be accessing the PBC portal through their User ID and Password.
Disclaimer: for further updates and operational procedures, please visit the following web links:
- www.pakistanbanaocertificates.gov.pk
- www.sbp.org.pk/dmmd/2019/C2.htm