Al Baraka plants trees

Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Limited began its Tree Plantation Drive 2024 in collaboration with Habib University, Karachi, last week, per a press release. Its purpose is to protect the environment and combat climate change and its impact on Pakistan. It is in line with the flagship initiative of “One Tree Per Staff Every Year”.

The plantation ceremony was held at the Habib University, Urban Forest in Karachi on February 20, 2024.

At the event, a considerable number of plants were planted, symbolising the commitment of Al Baraka

Bank (Pakistan) Limited to the national objective of sustainable development as the Bank continues to play its part in instilling Environmental Social Governance (ESG) practices in Pakistan.

NBP’s financial results

The National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) pre-tax profit for the year ended December 31, 2023, was Rs101.3bn, a 61.4pc increase from the preceding year’s Rs62.7bn, as per a press release. The Bank navigated a challenging macro environment, sustaining its support to customers in line with its vision.

This year, NBP witnessed the creation of total stakeholders’ value amounting to Rs1.065tr, doubling from Rs540bn last year. This was led by a 35.4pc surge in average earning assets, coupled with margin expansion on the back of higher average policy rates, which generated gross interest revenue of Rs1.024tr, 104pc higher than Rs503bn for 2022. Healthy growth was achieved in all income streams.

Sustainability summit

Greenwich University organised a two-day International Sustainability Summit, ‘Assessing Pakistan’s Progress across Social, Economic, and Environmental Domains’, last week, per a press release. The summit brought together renowned speakers and participants worldwide to engage in insightful discussions on the multifaceted dimensions of sustainability.

Distinguished speakers from Turkey, Malaysia, USA, Thailand, Mauritius, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka shared their expertise, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of global sustainability challenges and opportunities.

The summit, held at Greenwich University, comprised three thematic sessions focusing on educational development, economic growth, and environmental protection.

Sujawal Youth Stem Learning Festival

The three-day Sujawal Youth Stem Learning Festival, organised by the School Education and Literacy Department and Unicef in collaboration with Thar Education Alliance at the Govt High School Ground Sujawal, took place last week, according to a press release.

Children from various government and private schools were delighted to receive great appreciation from fellow students, teachers, and visitors at their stalls. They had created models educating about climate change, the greenhouse effect, and clean, renewable energy.

PSO partners with foodpanda

Foodpanda, Pakistan, is excited to announce its strategic partnership with PSO DigiCash, a convenient and efficient fuel management solution from Pakistan State Oil, as per a press release. This collaboration aims to empower foodpanda’s delivery riders by providing them exclusive benefits and incentives through PSO’s DigiCash fuel management solution.

PSO’s DigiCash, introduced in 2019, offers complete fuel management solutions for consumers. Through this partnership, foodpanda riders will avail of multiple exclusive discounts and benefits. Riders will receive this cashback directly into their DigiCash wallets every month for fuel and lubricants.

Generating employment

The employment generation is crucial to reduce poverty, hunger and bagging to control the severe violation of human rights across the country. This was stated by Ansar Burney, former minister for human rights, at his book launching ceremony “Awaz: Echoes of Freedom and Justice’ at the Karachi Press Club, according to the press release.

He urged that the corporate sector, welfare organisations, and philanthropists should provide education, skills, and training to the unemployed population to make them productive citizens rather than focus on expanding the free food network in different cities.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, February 26th, 2024