Investors encash Rs65b worth of bonds

ISLAMABAD: Investors holding Rs40,000 prize bonds have encashed Rs65 billion worth of bonds out of the total stock of Rs259 billion after the federal government’s decision to discontinue the Rs40,000 bonds, a senior official at the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) said on Thursday. Talking to APP, he voiced hope that by the end of current month, a further Rs40 billion worth of bonds would be encashed by the bondholders. Over Rs194 billion worth of prize bonds were yet to be encashed, he said. The government has discontinued Rs40,000 prize bonds through a notification issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which directed all commercial banks to stop selling Rs40,000 prize bonds from June 24 onwards. “The scheme of Rs40,000 bonds is owned by the CDNS and is being operated through the SBP,” the official said. Bondholders have been given the option to either replace them with Special Savings Certificates or Defence Savings Certificates or encash them at face value.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2019.

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