DOES CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MATTER FOR ASSET QUALITY OF ISLAMIC BANKS?

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance on asset quality of Islamic banks by employing data on 129 Islamic banks from 29 countries spanning the period from 2008 to 2017. The study shows that asset quality of Islamic banks is positively and significantly sensitive to an increase in board independence, Shariah board, and audit committee effectiveness. The study finds that female participation in management as CEOs seems to detract from good performance and that more board meetings can be harnessed to improve banks’ asset quality. These empirical findings have practical policy implications regarding asset quality management and board construction within the Islamic banking sector.This study investigates the impact of corporate governance on asset quality of Islamic banks by employing data on 129 Islamic banks from 29 countries spanning the period from 2008 to 2017. The study shows that asset quality of Islamic banks is positively and significantly sensitive to an increase in board independence, Shariah board, and audit committee effectiveness. The study finds that female participation in management as CEOs seems to detract from good performance and that more board meetings can be harnessed to improve banks’ asset quality. These empirical findings have practical policy implications regarding asset quality management and board construction within the Islamic banking sector

Extending Transit Facility to India: Implications for Pakistan’s Bilateral Trade with Afghanistan

The paper examines patterns of bilateral trade between Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and CARs. It also investigates whether providing India transit route to Afghanistan has opportunity costs for Pakistan’s trade potential with Afghanistan and CARs. In 2009, Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan amount to US$ 1.3 billion which make up for 7.8 % of Pakistan’s total exports. For the same year, India’s exports to Afghanistan stand at 471 million dollars which make 0.3 % of India’s total exports. Looking at the product wise composition of Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan, mineral fuels, oils, distillation products are on the top with share of around 29%. Salt, sulpher, earth, plaster, lime and cement and cereals have a share of around 11 %. While animal, vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products and articles of iron and steel have the share of around 7%. On the other hand, the top five exports of India to Afghanistan are man-made filaments with 42 % share, pharmaceutical products with 11 % share, electric and electronic equipment with 7% share and rubber and articles with 6% share. Clearly there is no overlap between exports of Pakistan and India to Afghanistan. Nonetheless Pakistan has already lost its market share to India in pharmaceuticals. The tariff applied to Pakistan by Afghanistan on pharmaceuticals is 2.50 % while India which enjoys Preferential Trade Agreement with Afghanistan only faces an average tariff of 0.60% on pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals are Pakistan’s top performing exports to CARs with 42.5 % share of total exports to CARs. India also exports pharmaceuticals to CARs but its share in total exports to CARs is only 25.5 %. In Afghanistan, Pakistan has clearly lost its market share to India due to presence of preferential tariffs for India in Afghanistan. If Pakistan provides transit route to India for its exports to Afghanistan, cheaper pharmaceuticals of Indian origin can then be re-exported to CARs capturing Pakistan’s market share in CARs. Much like pharmaceuticals there are other Pakistani products which are likely to lose out to India in Afghanistan and CARs if India is provided transit route to Afghanistan. The Wagah-Peshawar-Torkham route which roughly extends up to 800 km is probably the shortest possible one between India and Afghanistan; which would greatly reduce the logistics cost of shipping goods from India to Afghanistan and beyond. In addition to that, the preferential treatment currently enjoyed by Indian products in Afghanistan under the PTA would further cost Pakistani goods by eroding their competitiveness in the Afghan market. In the absence of a robust mechanism to contain the informal trade, allowing Indian goods a passage through Pakistan’s territory would, in all likelihood, worsen the smuggling situation, something Pakistan can ill afford to accept. Therefore, under the circumstances, there are clear economic disadvantages to Pakistan in extending the transit facility to India without adequate safeguards and preferably a quid pro quo, be it political or economic.International Trade, Transit Trade Agreements, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sectoral Analysis

Transformative Trade Credit Takaful Model: A Progressive Alternative to Credit Insurance

Trade credit insurance is a common method of risk management used by suppliers to safeguard themselves against non-payment by credit buyers. The manufacturer extending trade credit risks facing cash flow problems and potential customer non-payment. Manufacturers can increase sales with the aid of trade credit insurance and significantly reduce their default risk. A few companies in certain countries have introduced trade credit insurance as a relatively new service. However, they do not offer the Takaful model. Generally, people increasingly seek Shariah-compliant solutions, such as Islamic banking, to address their financial needs. Therefore, the government must bolster its presence in this domain. The overarching objective of this study is to propose an innovative Credit-related Takaful industry product for consideration. This study employed a qualitative approach, with unstructured interviews conducted to gather insights. The study sample comprises experts from the Shariah compliance department, Shariah scholars, and the Takaful industry experts, who were interviewed to gain a comprehensive understanding of Shariah principles. These interviews were conducted to gather insights into which Takaful model would be most suitable for Trade Credit in Pakistan. The majority of Shariah Scholars recommended the Waqf Wakalah model for the implementation of Credit Takaful in Pakistan. The findings of this study will help the Takaful industry of Pakistan to launch a new product for credit trading. This study will help further to know the importance of Credit Takaful and tap the gap in the Credit Takaful market, especially in Pakistan. Lastly, the findings will help the regulators of the Takaful industry to introduce new rules for the industry, providing a baseline for researchers to enhance their knowledge. Further investigation into Credit Takaful in Pakistan will build off the findings of this study to fill out the full circle of the Islamic financial system. It is a step in the right direction toward ending poverty and income inequality and increasing public awareness of the importance of Credit Takaful in today's world

Defect engineering for improved photocatalytic performance of reduced lead titanate (PbTiO3) under solar light irradiation

Lead titanate (PbTiO3) nanoparticles were prepared successfully by template free hydrothermal  method. Size, crystallinity, morphology and phase determination of the nanoparticles were made by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). FESEM results had shown that all nanoparticles were in the range between 20 to 40 nm size and found in the form of agglomerates. The average crystallite size of PbTiO3 nanoparticles was calculated to be nearly 35 nm. PbTiO3 nanoparticles were reduced by hydrogenation at high temperature to make the material active for visible light. Furthermore, optical absorbance of PbTiO3 nanoparticles was determined by applying ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) spectroscopy. By using Davis-Mott model, the direct optical band gap of 2.65 eV was acquired. Methyl orange (MO) was used as pollutant to check the photocatalytic activity of reduced PbTiO3 nanoparticles under solar light irradiation. Photocatalytic activity of reduced PbTiO3 nanoparticles increased 2.6 times more than that of pure PbTiO3 nanoparticles for methyl orange (MO) under solar light irradiation.               KEY WORDS: Lead titanate (PbTiO3), Photocatalytic performance, Hydrothermal growth, Solar light, Irradiation Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(2), 373-380.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i2.1

Regional trade in south Asia-impediments and the way forward

The paper sets out to suggest that regional trade between South Asia is quite low when compared to other regional blocks like NAFTA, EU 15, ASEAN, and MERCOUSER. The paper identifies non cooperation between India and Pakistan to be the main reason behind low trade in South Asia. The paper focuses on the pending trade issues between both countries that are preventing India and Pakistan to increase bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The first issue discussed in the paper is granting of MFN status to India by Pakistan. The paper finds that it is in the benefit of both countries if Pakistan gives MFN status to India. But before such a step is taken, it is essential that Pakistan moves from a positive list approach to a negative list approach. Pakistan can include industries like textiles in the negative list to prevent the flood of cheap Indian textiles. Once MFN status is granted to India, Pakistan would be able to raise more substantive issues, notably Indian NTBs, subsidies, and protective tariffs. Currently India practices various forms of NTBs against Pakistan. The visa restrictions and absence of financial services are the major NTBs. Such NTBs have prevented Pakistan to export more to India. Another trade issue highlighted in the paper is that of transit facility. India does not provide Pakistan a transit route to Nepal and Bhuttan. In contrast Pakistan has provided Afghanistan transit route to India, though Pakistan does not allow India a transit route to Afghanistan or beyond. The paper finds that there is a high risk of informal trade in case Pakistan provides India with the land route to Afghanistan through its territory. It is anticipated that most Indian exports to Afghanistan would be smuggled back into Pakistan affecting Pakistan’s local industry. The transit facility is by far the most complicated trade issue of the three. Though the paper concludes in favor of granting India MFN and against the imposition of NTBs, It only gives a conditional recommendation in favor of granting India transit route to Afghanistan in case India provides Pakistan transit route to Nepal and Bhuttan.Regional Trade Agreements, Barriers to Trade, WTO

Band gap engineering for improved photocatalytic performance of CuS/TiO2 composites under solar light irradiation

ABSTRACT. Nanoparticles of CuS, TiO2 and CuS/TiO2 composites were prepared by template free hydrothermal method. Prepared nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to confirm the formation of nanoparticles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was applied to investigate the morphology and particle size of the nanoparticles which were measured in the range of 30–40 nm. Photocatalytic performance of CuS, TiO2 and Cus/TiO2 were measured by degradation of methyl orange (MO) under solar light irradiation. Coupling of n-type TiO2 (3.2 eV) with p-type CuS (1.9 eV) showed efficient degradation of the contaminants under the solar light irradiation. Photocatalytic performance of CuS/TiO2 composite improves 1.4 times than CuS for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under solar light irradiation.               KEY WORDS: CuS/TiO2 composites, Photocatalytic performance, Hydrothermal growth, Solar light, Irradiation Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(3), 561-571.        DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i3.1

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Infections in Hostel Residents of Lahore, Pakistan

To maintain our good health, properly functioning gastrointestinal (GIT) track is always considered essential. Though in current era, living standards are much improved now but still gut infections are frequently reported around the globe. Because in third world countries, like Pakistan even in big cities people don’t have dietary sources of good quality. That’s why; a survey of randomly selected 10 hostels was conducted to estimate the prevalence of gastrointestinal infections among them. The results showed that mostly sufferers fall in age group of 18-28years and among them, females are more than males. Important causative factors for transmission of enteric pathogens are intake of impure water (in 42% cases), unhygienic food (in 18% cases) and blend of these two (in 33% cases) with major symptoms of abdominal discomfort, acid reflux, nausea and vomiting. But still only 19% gastric patients of hostel take proper medication for cure and rest of other are left untreated either due to lack of awareness or financial constraints. So these issues should be seriously addressed by the authorities to control the frequency of GIT infections among hostilities of Lahore, Pakistan

Editor-in-Chief

Abstract: Professional development of faculty members is an emerging concept in developing countries. It has been embraced quickly in developed nations unlike developing and under developing nations. The major purpose of this paper is to explore various perceived issues and challenges to professional development of faculty members and to provide suggestions to improve such emerging problems. This paper provides suggestions and recommendations for the universities where professional development practices have not yet started or have been started but facing some problems. Author has explored various perceived issues and challenges highlighted by prior studies that have further served as basis to design structured questionnaire and semi-structured interview questions for this study. Four renowned universities of Punjab were selected from which sample of 108 respondents were chosen for data collection. Data has been analyzed by taking simple means and standard deviations through SPSS. The findings of this paper reveal that the issue that is most alarming and has got lowest mean score is granting rewards and incentives and level of satisfaction of faculty members to professional development programs. Author has provided various recommendations as to conduct proper need assessment before training, to properly plan quality training programs and take input of trainees as well, to increase grants and funds for training, to create positive working environment for teachers, to train the trainers, to provide financial and non financial benefits to trainees and to properly scheduling training programs. This study could be beneficial for policy makers, managers and administrators of universities who could device better policies and practices to promote quality teaching in institutes. [Anam siddiqui, Hassan Danial Aslam, Hafiz Muhammad Farhan, Mehrdad Jalalian. Perceived issues and challenges to professional development of faculty members in tertiary academic institutes of Punjab, Pakistan

Extending Transit Facility to India: Implications for Pakistan’s Bilateral Trade with Afghanistan

The paper examines patterns of bilateral trade between Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and CARs. It also investigates whether providing India transit route to Afghanistan has opportunity costs for Pakistan’s trade potential with Afghanistan and CARs. In 2009, Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan amount to US$ 1.3 billion which make up for 7.8 % of Pakistan’s total exports. For the same year, India’s exports to Afghanistan stand at 471 million dollars which make 0.3 % of India’s total exports. Looking at the product wise composition of Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan, mineral fuels, oils, distillation products are on the top with share of around 29%. Salt, sulpher, earth, plaster, lime and cement and cereals have a share of around 11 %. While animal, vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products and articles of iron and steel have the share of around 7%. On the other hand, the top five exports of India to Afghanistan are man-made filaments with 42 % share, pharmaceutical products with 11 % share, electric and electronic equipment with 7% share and rubber and articles with 6% share. Clearly there is no overlap between exports of Pakistan and India to Afghanistan. Nonetheless Pakistan has already lost its market share to India in pharmaceuticals. The tariff applied to Pakistan by Afghanistan on pharmaceuticals is 2.50 % while India which enjoys Preferential Trade Agreement with Afghanistan only faces an average tariff of 0.60% on pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals are Pakistan’s top performing exports to CARs with 42.5 % share of total exports to CARs. India also exports pharmaceuticals to CARs but its share in total exports to CARs is only 25.5 %. In Afghanistan, Pakistan has clearly lost its market share to India due to presence of preferential tariffs for India in Afghanistan. If Pakistan provides transit route to India for its exports to Afghanistan, cheaper pharmaceuticals of Indian origin can then be re-exported to CARs capturing Pakistan’s market share in CARs. Much like pharmaceuticals there are other Pakistani products which are likely to lose out to India in Afghanistan and CARs if India is provided transit route to Afghanistan. The Wagah-Peshawar-Torkham route which roughly extends up to 800 km is probably the shortest possible one between India and Afghanistan; which would greatly reduce the logistics cost of shipping goods from India to Afghanistan and beyond. In addition to that, the preferential treatment currently enjoyed by Indian products in Afghanistan under the PTA would further cost Pakistani goods by eroding their competitiveness in the Afghan market. In the absence of a robust mechanism to contain the informal trade, allowing Indian goods a passage through Pakistan’s territory would, in all likelihood, worsen the smuggling situation, something Pakistan can ill afford to accept. Therefore, under the circumstances, there are clear economic disadvantages to Pakistan in extending the transit facility to India without adequate safeguards and preferably a quid pro quo, be it political or economic

Extending Transit Facility to India: Implications for Pakistan’s Bilateral Trade with Afghanistan

The paper examines patterns of bilateral trade between Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and CARs. It also investigates whether providing India transit route to Afghanistan has opportunity costs for Pakistan’s trade potential with Afghanistan and CARs. In 2009, Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan amount to US$ 1.3 billion which make up for 7.8 % of Pakistan’s total exports. For the same year, India’s exports to Afghanistan stand at 471 million dollars which make 0.3 % of India’s total exports. Looking at the product wise composition of Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan, mineral fuels, oils, distillation products are on the top with share of around 29%. Salt, sulpher, earth, plaster, lime and cement and cereals have a share of around 11 %. While animal, vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products and articles of iron and steel have the share of around 7%. On the other hand, the top five exports of India to Afghanistan are man-made filaments with 42 % share, pharmaceutical products with 11 % share, electric and electronic equipment with 7% share and rubber and articles with 6% share. Clearly there is no overlap between exports of Pakistan and India to Afghanistan. Nonetheless Pakistan has already lost its market share to India in pharmaceuticals. The tariff applied to Pakistan by Afghanistan on pharmaceuticals is 2.50 % while India which enjoys Preferential Trade Agreement with Afghanistan only faces an average tariff of 0.60% on pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals are Pakistan’s top performing exports to CARs with 42.5 % share of total exports to CARs. India also exports pharmaceuticals to CARs but its share in total exports to CARs is only 25.5 %. In Afghanistan, Pakistan has clearly lost its market share to India due to presence of preferential tariffs for India in Afghanistan. If Pakistan provides transit route to India for its exports to Afghanistan, cheaper pharmaceuticals of Indian origin can then be re-exported to CARs capturing Pakistan’s market share in CARs. Much like pharmaceuticals there are other Pakistani products which are likely to lose out to India in Afghanistan and CARs if India is provided transit route to Afghanistan. The Wagah-Peshawar-Torkham route which roughly extends up to 800 km is probably the shortest possible one between India and Afghanistan; which would greatly reduce the logistics cost of shipping goods from India to Afghanistan and beyond. In addition to that, the preferential treatment currently enjoyed by Indian products in Afghanistan under the PTA would further cost Pakistani goods by eroding their competitiveness in the Afghan market. In the absence of a robust mechanism to contain the informal trade, allowing Indian goods a passage through Pakistan’s territory would, in all likelihood, worsen the smuggling situation, something Pakistan can ill afford to accept. Therefore, under the circumstances, there are clear economic disadvantages to Pakistan in extending the transit facility to India without adequate safeguards and preferably a quid pro quo, be it political or economic