Danish Anwar

HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) is a subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings Plc, a British multinational banking and financial services company which is the world’s second largest banking entity. According to The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), 130 journalists “from 45 countries have unearthed secret bank account maintained for criminals, traffickers, tax dodgers, politicians and celebrities”. According to ICIJ’s ‘Murky cash sheltered by bank secrecy’, “The leaked files, based on the inner workings of HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm, relate to accounts holding more than $100 billion”. Of the $100 billion, 338 clients associated with Pakistan opened 648 accounts between 1970 and 2006. Of the $100 billion, 338 clients associated with Pakistan kept $859.7 million at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). Of the $100 billion, one client associated with Pakistan had kept $133.5 million at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). The Nepal Rastra Bank (the central bank of N...

Private wealth has doubled in the past five years in the GCC with Saudi Arabia and the UAE controlling 74 percent of the region's wealth, according to a new report. The Gulf's private wealth market has rocketed from $1.1 trillion in 2010 to $2.2 trillion last year, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5 percent, according to a study by Strategy&, formerly known as Booz & Company. The Strategy& study estimates that there are currently between 1.5 million and 1.6 million wealthy households in the GCC. Most of the region's private wealth resides in Saudi Arabia (44 percent), but the UAE has made notable gains with its share of GCC's private wealth increasing from 24 percent to 30 percent from 2009 to 2013. Dr Daniel Diemers, partner with Strategy& in Dubai, said: "High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) continue to account for the largest chunk of the region's wealth at 41 percent, followed by ultra-high-net-worth individuals...

The international monetary fund has given its agreement to Pakistani Government for scaling down the current year tax target by PKR 119 billion rupees. The Finance minister Mr. Ishaq Dar told in a news conference, that IMF has revised the tax target to Rs 2.691 trillion against the original target of Rs 2.81 trillion. The IMF mission Chief for Pakistan Mr. Jeffery Frank and Mr. Ishaq Dar also announced the successful conclusion of the sixth review of Pakistani economy. However, it was not decided whether the GOP will cut down its Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) by the same amount of the budget deficit ceiling 4.9% of GDP will be eased. The next loan tranche will be released despite the government of Pakistan did not met their commitment to introduce energy and tax reforms and give independence to State Bank of Pakistan. Mr. Dar also claimed that FBR’s performance is majorly affected due to decline in Petroleum product prices. The impact of this decrease in tax collection...