CJCSC, Azerbaijan leadership deliberate upon bilateral cooperation

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza called on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Thursday. The CJCSC, who is on official visit to Azerbaijan, also held separate meetings with Minister of Defence Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and other military leadership.

During the meetings, important facets of defence and security relationship between the two countries came under discussion. Both the sides also deliberated upon various areas of bilateral cooperation and prevailing regional environment, particularly with reference to Kashmir and Afghanistan.

The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) received Rs29 billion in new investments until February 28, through the newly introduced premium prize bonds.

It may be noted here that CDNS did not accept institutional investment as only individual investment was encouraged.

The CDNS has introduced the premium bonds after the termination of both major prize bonds of Rs40,000 and Rs25,000. The new bonds were registered by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and can only be encashed only by the registered financial institution under SBP.

The federal government had recently suspended the prize bonds and had given a six month deadline for encashing their savings totalling Rs160 bn.

Speaking about the development, a CDNS official said that the government has opened new avenues for public and private investment to document the country’s economy and ensure transparency in the financial system.

In reply to a question, he said encashments worth Rs116 bn were paid by March 1 to investors against the suspension of prize bonds of Rs25,000, while the remaining 45 bn would be paid by May 30.

CDNS also compensated an amount of Rs258 bn to investors after the termination of prize bonds of Rs40,000.

Furthermore, CDNS has reached a fresh deposit of Rs540 billion during the last seven months in the current fiscal year (7MFY21). The directorate has set an annual collection target collection of Rs249 bn in the current fiscal year as compared to Rs352 bn for the previous fiscal year to enhance savings and promote a saving culture in the country.

In regard to the current revision of CDNS certificate profit rates, the official said that the institution has maintained the same interest rate on savings certificates due to the market situation and as per Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) policy decision. “Interest rates were linked with the policy of PIB, set by the SBP,” he added.

The official said the rate of profit on defence saving, regular income saving, special saving has remained at 8.49pc, 8.04pc, and 7.77pc, respectively. The rate of profit on Short Term, Pension and Shuhada Welfare certificates also been retained.

Moreover, three-month certificates now carry a profit rate of 6.66pc, whereas six-month certificates carry the same rate at 6.80pc and nine-month certificates are also the same at 6.8pc from 6.2pc.