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PM Shehbaz hails launch of Raqami Islamic Digital Bank | The Express Tribune
PM Shehbaz Sharif awarded licence to Kuwait’s Raqami Islamic Digital Bank on Monday. PHOTO: APP
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday described the granting of a commercial licence to Raqami Islamic Digital Bank as a major milestone for the financial sector and a significant step towards strengthening economic cooperation between Pakistan and Kuwait.
Addressing the concluding session of the licence awarding ceremony, the prime minister said strong political relations must be underpinned by meaningful economic engagement, stressing that lasting partnerships could not be sustained without trade, investment and financial collaboration.
“Pakistan and Kuwait are brotherly countries bound by decades of strong cultural, political, and people-to-people relations,” PM Shehbaz said.
“It is now time to further strengthen our economic and investment ties so that this relationship grows from strength to strength,” he added.
براہِ راست: وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف کی رقمی اسلامک بنک کو ڈیجیٹل لائسنس دینے کی تقریب سے خطاب https://t.co/uWqAAV2PsB
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 10, 2026
Congratulating Raqami Islamic Digital Bank on becoming Pakistan’s third licenced digital retail bank, the prime minister expressed confidence that the institution would promote financial inclusion, innovation and Shariah-compliant banking.
He said digital Islamic banking would play a vital role in modernising the country’s financial ecosystem while remaining aligned with Islamic principles.
وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف کا رقمی اسلامک بینک کوڈیجیٹل لائسنس کے اجراء کی تقریب سے خطاب
تقریب میں وزیراعظم نے چیئرمین رقمی بورڈ عبداللہ مطیری کو رقمی اسلامک بینک کے لئے ڈیجیٹل لائسنس دیا۔
“رقمی اسلامک بینک کو ڈیجیٹل بینکنگ کے لیے لائسنس کا اجراء پاکستان-کویت تعلقات کے لیے بہت… pic.twitter.com/pmP4aIDSsJ— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 10, 2026
The Kuwaiti ambassador congratulated the Raqami team and termed the licensing of the digital bank a practical expression of the deep-rooted brotherly relations between Pakistan and Kuwait.
He said Kuwait’s leadership had consistently supported Pakistan and was keen to expand cooperation in trade, investment and financial services.
Abdullah Al-Mutari, chairman of Raqami Islamic Digital Bank’s board of directors, thanked the government and the State Bank of Pakistan for their support and presented a commemorative memento to PM Shehbaz
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Chief Executive Officer Umair Ijaz said the bank would provide fully Shariah-compliant digital banking services aimed at improving accessibility, efficiency and customer experience, while supporting Pakistan’s broader financial inclusion agenda.
MUMBAI: The board of markets regulator Sebi on Monday approved some major changes to the disclosure rules governing the chairman, whole time members (WTMs) and other senior officials of the body. These changes, including public disclosure of their own assets and liabilities, and of their family members, were mostly based on the recommendations of the high-level committee (HLC) on conflict of interest of the senior officials and board members of Sebi.The market regulator’s board also approved changes to some of the rules governing foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that would allow these investors to net out their trades in the equity cash segment of the market. Under the new disclosure norms, the Sebi WTMs will be categorised as ‘insiders’, the regulator said in a release. All these officials will have uniform application of restrictions on investments and trading (in equity and equity-related instruments, other than permitted investments in mutual funds etc.) as currently applicable to employees, the release said. Also, they could invest in any pooled vehicle, provided the scheme is professionally managed by a regulated market intermediary.The new rules also mandated that when an official joins Sebi as its chairman or a WTM, the official will have four options to choose from for existing equity investments. The official could liquidate all the investments, freeze them, sell the investments according to a trading plan or sell them without a trading plan with prior approval.“Investments in equity and equity-related instruments in commercial ventures (including unlisted companies) must be fully liquidated or kept frozen” during the tenure of the official. “Vested options, if any, must be exercised before joining Sebi,” the release said.The HLC was formed in April 2025, soon after Tuhin Kanta Pandey, then a top bureaucrat in the finance ministry, took over as top markets regulator. A panel on the issue was necessitated after there were allegations of conflict of interest with the previous Sebi chief, which were denied by the official.
Energy prices fall and stock markets rebound after the US president says “very good and productive” talks have been held.
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Business
WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike says new CBA will have a major impact on players’ bank accounts
The Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association ratified the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement Monday, calling it “transformational” and “bigger than basketball.”
The new CBA begins this season and runs through 2032.
When asked her opinion of the most important outcome from the deal, WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike had two words: “Bank accounts.”
“Being able to have your worth tied mostly in your salary is all that we’ve been fighting for, and it’s what we were able to achieve,” Ogwumike told CNBC Sport in an interview.
The deal increases the average player salary to $583,000 in 2026 with the potential to increase to more than $1 million by 2032. The maximum salary for players will now be $1.4 million in 2026 and could grow to more than $2.4 million by 2032, based on current WNBA financial projections.
Ogwumike acknowledged the salary increases may change players’ plans for how they spend their off-seasons.
The average WNBA salary was $120,000 in 2025, spurring many players to play abroad or in other leagues, such as 3-on-3 league Unrivaled, for extra money.
“Prioritizing where you want to play is going to look a lot different now that we’ve been able to negotiate a structure, a salary structure, that is tied to the revenue of the business,” Ogwumike said.
Several WNBA players, including five-time WNBA All-Star Napheesa Collier, have expressed a loss of confidence in WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in recent months, criticizing her empathy and communication with players. Ogwumike expressed optimism that players will be able to work in tandem with Engelbert under the new CBA structure.
“I told her that we’re standing here with you, Cathy,” Ogwumike said. “We were able to come to this deal and go through the process of this deal, however bumpy or smooth it was, we got here. It’s important for her to understand that we as players are at the table with her and all WNBA leadership to have achieved something that’s incredibly historical. So, I feel like there probably isn’t a better way to represent us settling our differences and moving forward in a league that we all care about then by signing this deal.”
Watch CNBC Sport’s full interview with WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike.
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.
Sebi tightens disclosures for top officials – The Times of India
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