PSX expects good days ahead under current regime

• Chairman briefs National Defence University officers on Pakistan’s economy and the working of PSX

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Chairman of the Board Sulaiman S Mehdi has expressed confidence that under the able leadership of Finance Minister Asad Umar, the exchange should be able to deliver to its fullest in the coming years.

While briefing a group of National Defence University (NDU) officers and faculty members on Pakistan’s economy and the working of the PSX, the chairman highlighted the steps to improve the performance, investors’ base and regulatory framework of the exchange.

The NDU group was led by Brigadier (r) Muhammad Arshad whereas Sulaiman S Mehdi was accompanied by board member Ahmed Chinoy to represent the exchange.

The chairman started the briefing with an outline of immense potential Pakistan holds by virtue of its strategic location and the various sectors of the economy which are still at a nascent stage of development. He also reiterated the fact that the country is rich in natural resources, saying that Pakistan is a prime destination for investment not only from a local investor’s perspective but also for the foreign investors.

The chairman briefed the participants about how PSX evolved, demutualized and transformed as the only national institution of the country that primarily focused on capital formation. He talked about the advantages of integration and strategic partnership with the Chinese, whereby several aspects such as technology, IT security, and investment have been a source of material advantage to PSX.

He said that the price to earnings ratio of PSX was very attractive compared to other regional markets and that over a period of five years, PSX yielded a compounded annual return of up to 120 per cent.

Mehdi further elaborated that currently there are about 250,000 retail investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. “When co-related with the population number, it comes to about 12 per cent, which is very low when compared to other countries in the region. PSX is working on numerous initiatives to increase the investor base. Efforts are being made to introduce new products on the exchange to cater to various segments of the population,” he added.

He also took this opportunity to share some of the plans that PSX has for the development of the capital market and which he foresees as an attractive avenue of investment for the local and foreign investors. He spoke of the current government bringing with it a new hope for the Pakistanis.

Towards the end, Brigadier (r) Muhammad Arshad thanked the PSX chairman for the insightful session held for the NDU participants.