Govt to float GDR of three banks

The government is considering floating Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) of shares of three banks – Habib Bank, United Bank and National Bank – and a power generation company in the international market.

These will be followed by an international GDR offer of 10-15 per cent shares in state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) on the London Stock Exchange.

Federal Minister for Privatisation and Investment Zahid Hamid was speaking in an interview with a UK-based daily Financial Times, a press statement said.

Zahid Hamid said: “This (OGDC offer) will give us access to international capital markets. It will not only enhance the country’s profile but also help in the OGDC’s transformation”.

ABN Amro eyes stake in Prime Bank

Dutch bank ABN Amro is eyeing a stake in Pakistan’s Prime Bank and plans to start a due diligence review of the mid-sized lender soon, sources familiar with the development said on Wednesday.

“ABN Amro has been granted permission by the central bank to conduct the due diligence of Prime Bank,” said a banking source, who declined to be identified.

He, and other sources, however, did not say how much time the process will take. Senior ABN Amro and Prime Bank officials were not available for comment.

Certificates for Islamic banks launched

Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Shamshad Akhtar announced on Saturday the launch of Shariah-compliant Bait-ul-Maal Certificates (BMCs) as a new liquidity management product of Islamic banks so that they could manage their liquidity by investing in this product of the central government.

The BMCs will not replace present T-bills, managed and controlled by the central bank on behalf of the Ministry of Finance. At present, the Islamic banks are not participating in T-bills auction because of the involvement of interest payment.