Observer Report
Karachi
Investment into premium prize bonds of Rs40,000 denomination sharply increased by 192 per cent, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), said on Wednesday.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) statistics showed that investment into registered or premium prize bonds surged to Rs17 billion in October 2019 compared with Rs5.8 billion in the corresponding month a year earlier.
The premium prize bonds are being issued only against computerised national identity cards with valid bank accounts.
The government also announced biannual profit of 1.965 percent to make the instrument attractive and the payout is directly transferred to the bond holders.
Around Rs232 billion was converted into either premium bonds or transferred into saving accounts or other bank accounts following the government’s initiative to discontinue prize bonds of Rs40,000 denomination to bring the money into documented economy.
