Pakistan’s equity mutual-fund industry has seldom been accused of imagination, but the latest positioning data compiled by Arif Habib Ltd reveal a concentration that is striking even by local standards. In its June quarter review of public portfolio disclosures, the brokerage finds that three state-linked energy giants – Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) – now sit at the top of almost every equity fund’s shopping list.
OGDC leads the pack: 62 open-ended and closed-ended funds report holding the exploration behemoth, controlling a combined 17.2% of the company’s free float. Close on its heels, PPL appears in 51 funds with 15.5% of free float under collective ownership. PSO, the downstream monopolist, ranks third: 50 portfolios together own 29.7% of the fuel marketer’s tradable shares. “It is the highest retail-cum-institutional stack-up we have seen in PSO since the GDR days of 2008,” notes Arif Habib’s research team.
The skew lays bare two realities: first, professional investors still favour high-liquidity, dividend-rich large-caps in a market where average daily turnover rarely tops US $30 million; second, the energy patch remains one of the few sectors offering index weight, currency insulation and a predictable payout policy. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
