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ISLAMABAD: The management of the National Bank of Pakistan has decided to wind up its regional office in Gilgit after revelation of a fraudulent loan scam involving millions of rupees. An order issued by the NBP says that Gilgit has been reverted to the status of ‘sub-region’ under the bank’s federal capital region.The vice-president of regional office, Malik Mohammad Issa Khan, has been appointed recovery officer for the sub-region. The bank had launched an investigation into withdrawal of Rs50 million by a man using the name of the Pak-China Sust Port Company and forging signatures of four members of the company’s board of directors in loan documents. He had also pledged collateral that did not exist. The investigation, sources said, was also to look into alleged audit lapses. According to the sources, loans of Rs880 million were sanctioned in the region on ‘fake or vague’ collaterals. The total amount of loan disbursed by the NBP in the region was around Rs1 billion. Meanwhile, chie...

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) here on Tuesday exempted from withholding tax on import of goods by HUB Power Company Limited, its contractors or sub-contractors for the execution of power project. According to S.R.O.129(I)/2009 issued here in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 53 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001), the Federal Government is pleased to direct that the following further amendment shall be made in the Second Schedule to the said Ordinance, namely:- In the aforesaid Schedule, in Part IV, after clause (69), the following new clause shall be added, namely:- “(70) The provisions of section 148, regarding withholding tax on imports, shall not apply in respect of goods or classes of goods for the execution of contract, imported by contractors and sub-contractors engaged in the execution of power project under the agreement between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and HUB Power Company Limited.” (DT Report)

Small shareholders, who had taken most of the beating during last year's stock exchange crisis, continue to live on hopes that some day their problems would be alleviated. They have been caught up in a quagmire following uncertainties. Since huge volume of shares of sub-account holders are blocked and cannot be sold in the falling market, causing disastrous financial losses, they have suggested to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC) to improve the system, whereby sub-account holders would be secured. According to the suffering shareholders, since the enforcement of CDC, the issuance of share certificates has been discontinued. The investors in joint stock companies have option either to open an investor account with CDC or to keep account with members of stock exchange. Small and medium investors prefer to keep account with members due to recurrent payments to CDC and hassle of issuing and delivering cheques aft...