Skip to main content

Standard Chartered enters into an agreement with Kashf Foundation

                                        

Standard Chartered Bank has entered into a distribution agreement with Kashf Foundation. Through this arrangement, Standard Chartered will be offering Kashf Gender Bonds to the Bank’s non-individual business banking clients.

This distribution arrangement of the Kashf Gender Bond is a significant step towards the Government’s agenda of economic empowerment and financial inclusion of women in Pakistan. The proceeds from the Bond will be utilised for micro-infrastructure finance loans directed towards the welfare of women through entrepreneurship, business support, flood rehabilitation, education, and home rehabilitation projects to name a few. The Bond also offers a great value proposition for the Bank’s client base, attributable to its long-term rating of AAA and market competitive returns along with a guarantee by InfraZamin.  InfraZamin is guaranteeing 100 per cent principal amount along with two quarterly interest payments.

 

This agreement was signed in presence of Saadya Riaz, Head CPBB, Standard Chartered Bank; Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director, Kashf Foundation and Maheen Rahman, CEO InfraZamin, at a ceremony in Lahore.

 

Saadya Riaz, Head CPBB, Standard Chartered said, “At Standard Chartered we are strongly focused toward lifting participation of women and we feel privileged to have partnered with Kashf Foundation for this impactful venture.

 

Our commitment to our clients is absolute and we strive to offer solutions well suited to their needs. Through our Wealth Management Platform we bring forth the best-in-class investment and protection solutions for our clients. This arrangement gives us an opportunity to deliver real value to our clients due to bond’s quality credit rating, market competitive return and guarantee by InfraZamin and we foresee a strong appetite for it.”

 

Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director, Kashf Foundation said, Kashf has always been at the cutting edge of investing in innovative financial services for women. The gender bond will make finance accessible for women from underprivileged backgrounds by linking them with capital markets, a segment that is often ignored. We are thankful to InfraZamin for playing a significant role as a guarantor that will boost the confidence of investors. The distribution agreement between Kashf Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank is a significant stride in the financial sector. Which, in turn, will contribute significantly to sustainable economic growth in the country and establish a compelling business case for investing in women.

 

Maheen Rahman, CEO, Infrazamin said: We are excited to the part of the first Gender Bond transaction in Pakistan and grateful to Kashf Foundation for their pioneering vision towards their long history of enabling women empowerment. As a country which sits near the bottom of the Gender Equity Index this transaction marks a significant leap forward in raising commercial capital directed to female empowerment and financial inclusion and represents an important milestone in the development and growth of the capital market. This transaction also demonstrates the power of using guarantees and credit enhancement facilities to enable a crowding in of private institutional investment into private sector-led projects.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

47% of Asia Pac businesses have no emissions plan in place despite the climate emergency, reveals new report from ACCA, IFAC and PwC

           As world leaders gather for COP 28, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Accountants), IFAC (the International Federation of Accountants) and professional services firm PwC released a new report:   The  role of the CFO and finance function in the climate transition: driving value and sustainability,  based on a survey of 1,000 senior finance professionals around the world.   The research reveals 47% of respondents in the Asia Pacific region have yet to produce a plan for reducing their carbon emissions. Alarmingly, 69% of those respondents without an emissions plan say they currently have no intention of developing one. This compares with global figures of 46% of respondents who have yet to prepare an emissions plan and 70% of those say they currently have no intention of developing one.   The report also says that that involving CFOs and finance teams in the emissions reduction planning is likely to accelerate progress.  They should embrace this because, although they may not
Post a Comment
Read more

Peshawar Zalmi Releases "Zalmi Raalal" Official Anthem Powered by TCL

             TCL, Pakistan's No.1 LED TV Brand, in collaboration with Peshawar Zalmi, has released their most awaited anthem for PSL 8, " Zalmi Raalal ". Directed by the maestro Hassan Dawar himself, "Zalmi Raalal" is a star-studded, power-packed amalgamation of music, fashion, and sports, the three foremost passion points of Peshawar Zalmi. Produced by Naughty Boy, who has worked in the global music industry with the likes of Beyoncé, Wiz Khalifa, and Sam Smith, the music video features cricket's biggest superstars Darren Sammy and Babar Azam, as well as Pakistan's biggest celebrities Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi. Peshawar Zalmi's official anthem for 2023, "Zalmi Raalal", is an ode to passion, a story entailing the beauty and power of the KP region and its people. The anthem has crossed one million views on all online platforms since its release, and the number is increasing fast.   The star-studded and narrative-centric anthem feature
Post a Comment
Read more

Economic confidence among finance professionals edges higher globally despite big fall in North America

                                            The latest ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA ®  (Institute of Management Accountants)  Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) suggests that confidence among accountants and finance professionals edged slightly higher in Q2 2024 and is just above its historical average.  For chief financial officers (CFOs), all the key global indicators rose, with sharp gains evident in the New Orders and Capital Expenditure indices.   There were some notable regional differences . Western Europe-based accountants reported another decent increase in confidence as the euro area and UK economies continue to stage recoveries. Even Asia Pacific saw a small rise off the back of a huge gain previously, and the New Orders Index increased strongly. The region is benefitting from improvements in the global economy, including in the manufacturing sector and the upward moving technology cycle. However, North America’s financial professio
Post a Comment
Read more