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December 3, 2020: Mobile banking transactions increased to 36.4 million amounting to Rs. 908.7 billion in Q1-FY21, marking an increase of 139% by volume and 211% by value when compared with the same period last year.

The State Bank of Pakistan released its Quarterly Payment System Review (QPSR) for the first quarter, July – September 2020, of the fiscal year 2020-21 today, which shows strong growth in the pace of digital financial transactions in the country.

Promoting digital financial services is a key goal of the SBP. According to the data reported in the review, digital payment transactions in Pakistan have increased significantly during Q1-FY21, largely due to the impact of measures taken by SBP creating incentives for customers.  Growth in digital payment infrastructure, as well as the emergence of new payment aggregators, have also been a contributing factor in this growth. Moreover, it also reflects the changes in consumer’s preference for digital transactions amid the Covid19 situation.

According to the Q1-FY21 QPSR, 253.7 million e-Banking transactions were conducted by customers valuing Rs. 19 trillion. E-banking transactions comprise Real-Time Online Branches (RTOBs) Transactions, ATM Transactions, Internet Banking Transactions, Mobile Phone Banking Transactions, e-commerce, POS, and Call Center/ IVR Banking. Although, RTOB transactions have a major share of e-banking transactions in terms of value, about 80%, other types of transactions are more than 83% of the e-banking transactions in terms of volume.  During Q1-FY21, the most promising uptake was seen in internet banking and mobile banking transactions as the number of registered mobile phone banking users reached 8.9 million showing an increase of 41% over Q1-FY20 and the number of internet users touched 4.3 million with a growth of 26% over the same period.

Accordingly, mobile banking transactions increased to 36.4 million amounting to Rs. 908.7 billion, marking an increase of 139% by volume and 211% by value when compared with the same period last year.  Similarly, internet banking transactions increased to 18.9 million, valuing Rs. 1.1 trillion during Q1-FY21, registering a growth of 55% in volume and 89% in value, in comparison to the same period last year.

Another major avenue of e-banking transactions is through Point of Sale (POS), whereby people make transactions using credit or debit cards typically for shopping at markets. The number of transactions through POS machines that declined sharply during Q3 and Q4 of FY20, owing to the closure of markets amid Covid19, recovered significantly in Q1-FY21.

 The number of transactions through POS were recorded at 16.8 million amounting to Rs. 92.3 billion, showing an increase of 47% in terms of volume and 49% in value during Q1-FY21 over Q4-FY20.  In addition to POS-based transactions, card-based transactions on e-commerce portals also followed a similar trend – a fall during Q3 and Q4 of FY20 due to Covid19 related decline in economic activity, and a recovery in Q1-FY21. Such transactions were recorded at 3.9 million, amounting to Rs. 11.9 billion in Q1-FY21, exhibiting strong growth of 70% by volume and 27% by value when compared with the Q4-FY20. Nevertheless, strong growth in e-commerce transactions can also be witnessed as the number of transactions and their value grew by 77% and 47% when compared with Q1-FY20.

Press Release

December 3, 2020 (MLN): Following the global markets, Pakistan Stock Market rallied in November on three effective COVID-19 vaccine announcements, setting the stage for a more rapid economic recovery next year.

With the ambition to make investors know its stance of the capital market for December, JS Global held a webinar today on ‘Market Monthly Outlook’ wherein its research analysts discussed the upside and downside risks to stocks.

Many of the sectors which have been hit hard due to lockdown amid pandemic- Auto, Cement, Steel - have shown much recovery or gains on the back of encouraging economic climate and lower international crude oil prices. 

Over the past several months, the KSE-100 index has been trading in a range of 38k to 42k. It is expected that any sharp jump can break the established range.

As per JS Global research analyst, there are high- upside opportunities available for investors in Cement, Steel, Auto, Banks, and some selected refineries.

Talking about the outlook of refineries, JS Global believes that the exchange and inventory losses will be reduced going forward as the environment is helpful for the growth of refineries wherein National Refinery Limited (NRL) has been suggested a compelling growth stock on the board.

The other growth stocks to buy are Bank Al Habib and United Bank Limited (UBL), according to JS Global Capital while Cherat Cement was also the pick.

Moreover, it is expected that IMF conditionality will have a positive impact on the financial market.

While the capital market has maintained several positive elements, in view of JS Global, there is increased uncertainty regarding the resurgence of COVID-19 cases has raised risks as the reimposition of lockdown may reverse the long-term positives. In addition, the efficacy of the vaccine after the rollout is something where all eyes are on.

Further, the markets are expected to look for another risk regarding Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rallies.

JS Global apprised that solution of the monster of Circular Debt will be the biggest positive trigger for the capital markets.

The global political risks due to Iran-Israel tension cannot be ignored, JS Global concluded.

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December 3, 2020 (MLN): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an auction on Thursday in which it sold 5 year variable rental rate GOP Ijara Sukuk worth Rs.68.86 billion.

Bids for the Fixed Rental Rate Sukuk were rejected.

Combined auction target was Rs.50 billion.

The SBP Received bids worth Rs.84.67 billion for the Variable Rate Ijara Sukuk with a range of -50 to 20 bps over benchmark out of which it accepted Rs.68.86 billion at a cut off margin of -10 bps.

Bids worth Rs.5.80 billion were received for the fixed rental rate Ijara sukuk with a fixed rental range 8.65% to 9.15 % which the SBP rejected.

Settlement date for the successful bids is Dec 09, 2020.

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December 03, 2020 (MLN): The capital market opened on a positive note on improved trade data and concessionary tariffs.  However, profit-taking kicked in which eroded early session gains.

The benchmark KSE-100 index ended the choppy session flat by gaining mere 20.34 points today and closed at 42,047- level. This was 0.05% higher compared to the previous closing.

According to the closing note by Next Capital, the E&P sector remained under pressure throughout the trading session as news came in that OPEC+ discussions are now focused on proposals for a gradual easing of output cuts over several months.

The Index traded in a range of 401.26 points or 0.95 percent of the previous close, showing an intraday high of 42,410.20 and a low of 42,008.94.

Of the 97 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 42 closed up 54 closed down, while 1 remained unchanged. The total volume traded for the index was 240.18 million shares.

Sectors propping up the index were Fertilizer with 17 points, Cement with 13 points, Technology & Communication with 12 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 9 points and Commercial Banks with 7 points.

The most points added to the index was by SYS which contributed 27 points followed by LUCK with 17 points, MCB with 15 points, FFC with 15 points and PSO with 12 points.

Sector wise, the index was let down by Pharmaceuticals with 12 points, Chemical with 8 points, Textile Composite with 7 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 6 points and Food & Personal Care Products with 6 points.

The most points taken off the index was by TRG which stripped the index of 12 points followed by MTL with 12 points, SEARL with 11 points, HBL with 8 points and COLG with 7 points.

All Share Volume decreased by 56.55 Million to 420.32 Million Shares. Market Cap decreased by Rs.2.79 Billion.

Total companies traded were 400 compared to 403 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 171 closed up, 215 closed down while 14 remained unchanged.

Total trades decreased by 10,030 to 150,615.

Value Traded decreased by 2.37 Billion to Rs.18.03 Billion

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December 3, 2020 (MLN): Snapping two-session gaining streak, gold prices slipped on Thursday in domestic bullion market. The price of 24 karat gold dropped by Rs.300 to Rs 110,500 per tola. The precious yellow metal of 24-Karat had closed at Rs 110,800 per tola yesterday.

According to the data released by the All Sindh Saraf Jewellers Association, the price of 10-gram gold also dipped by Rs 257 to Rs 94,736 against the price of Rs 94,993 reported in the previous session.

On the other hand, the price of silver tola and 10-gram silver jumped by Rs 20 and Rs 17.15 to clock in at Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,028.80 respectively, the association reported.

 In the international market, the price of gold witnessed increase of US$8 amid the weakness in US dollar and traded at US$ 1.839 per ounce, while silver was pegged at US$ 24.14 an ounce.

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