National Savings portfolio doubles to Rs2000bn

ISLAMABAD: The investment portfolio of Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has doubled to Rs2,000 billion during past four year, Director General of the organization Zafar M. Sheikh said here on Friday.

Talking to journalists after formally launching Rs25,000 Prize Bond, DG National Savings, Zafar M Sheikh said that the saving culture in Pakistan had been very low as compared to the other countries of the world but this trend in our country has now changed as the investments are now in double digits instead of single digit.

He was hopeful that the Rs187 billion saving target set for this fiscal year would be met within the stipulated time as 97 percent target has already been met till January 2012. "So far collection has reached to Rs104 billion," he remarked.

To a question, he said that 109 branches of the National Savings have been computerized adding that PC-II would be submitted this fiscal year to expand the project further.

He said that the National Savings would also install Auto Teller Machines to facilitate its customers. Talking about the interest rates, he said that The National Savings was revisiting its interest rates after every three months and make changes keeping in view the Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) rates.

However, he added, that the changed rates applied on new schemes while the old schemes remain on their own interest rates.

Highlighting the objectives of new prize bond, he said that the purpose of the new prize bond of Rs.25,000 was to plug in the gap between Rs15,000/ and Rs40,000/ prize bonds owing to this deficiency the demand of public have also growing over the years that a new prize bond, preferably in the denomination of Rs25,000/ be launched.

He expressed the hope this initiative would help heighten the cost effective borrowing besides making the prize bond schemes more attractive and diversified in terms of various denomination.

He added that sale of the Rs.25,000 bond has already started from February 1, 2012 and its first draw will be held May 1 ,2012 at Rawalpindi while its second and third draws will be held on August 1, 2012, at Lahore and on November 1, 2012 at Hyderabad.

Zafar Shaikh said that first prize of Rs25,000 bond will be Rs50,000,000 while the second prize of Rs15,000,000 each will go to three winners.

He added that the third prize of Rs312,000 each will be given to 1696 winners of the prize bond. He hoped that an investment of Rs4 billion to Rs5 billion would come from Rs25,000 prize bond. He added the total investment in different denomination bonds is Rs294 billion.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012