Pakistan National Savings Directorate (NSD) Managing Director Zafar M Sheikh has announced issuance of Rs 10,000 denomination prize interest bearer prize bond which would be launched through Stock Exchange.
While speaking at Lahore Stock Exchange here on Monday, he said the launch of Rs 25,000 denomination bonds in February had generated over Rs 20 billion against the initial target of five billion rupees, while the new series of bonds of Rs 10,000 denominations would come with an additional lucrative feature of paying profit with the opportunity to win prize money.
LSE Managing Director Aftab Ahmad Chaudhry and senior members were also present on the occasion. He said that issuance of short-term bonds would help create secondary debt market. "Moreover, a number of products are also being considered which would play key role in resolving circular debt issue. Most of the products would be launched through the stock exchanges," he added. The stocks had also been taken on board to discuss various products being offered in near future to the investors, he maintained.
The NSD Managing Director further said that spread rate in the banking sector was abnormally high while depositors were not getting appropriate return on their deposits. Keeping in view the current situation, the rate of return on bonds would be made more attractive so that general public preferred to invest in bonds, he added.
Moreover, the NSD is planning to use the platform of Stock Exchanges for issuance, listing and sales through the brokers. NSD and LSE are already in discussion for finalising modalities for this arrangement. Under the proposed draft arrangement, LSE will also be promoting the new bonds as a new listed instrument for which LSE brokers may become sales agents.
The upcoming Rs 10,000 bonds will be the second attempt of the National Savings to use Capital Market for generating funds. Earlier in its first attempt, NSD successfully launched 3, 5 and 10 years bonds through the Exchanges, raising more that Rs 3.6 billion.
Zafar M Sheikh further said that Pakistan National Savings in collaboration with the LSE would observe ''''savings week'''' in first week of April 2012. He said that saving ratio must be 20 percent to the GDP against the current ratio of 13 percent. "A number of schemes are being considered for the overseas Pakistanis so that they could be motivated for savings," he added. All the National Savings Centres would be interlinked through computer while ATM would also be installed at different centres, he maintained. Speaking on the occasion, Aftab Ahmad Chaudhary appreciated the NSD Chief for increasing savings from Rs 1,030 billion to Rs 2,010 billion and network of branches to 376 in a short period.
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