PSX’s poor showing worries govt
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday expressed his concern over the underperformance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which was once one of the best performing markets in the region.
During a meeting with a joint delegation from PSX and Pakistan Mutual Funds Association (MFAP), which visited Dar at the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) headquarters in Islamabad, the minister assured the guests that their concern was about lack of investors. will be discussed in the next budget.
He also promised the delegation that steps would be taken to encourage investment in the country. PSX is represented by managing director and CEO Farrukh Hussain and chief financial officer Ahmed Ali. Mir Adil and Arif Qadri represent MFAP.
The Finance Minister was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Chairman of the Adjustment and Consolidation Committee Resources (RRMC) Ashfaq Tola , FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad and other senior officials from the Department of Finance and Revenue Ministry.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad was also present on the occasion.
During the meeting, MFAP representatives presented the growth of Islamic co-financing. They proposed that a short-term Islamic sukuk be introduced.
The MFAP representative suggested some measures that should be taken in the upcoming budget to boost supplementary funding. Representatives from PSX described the market decline over the past six years.
They argue that the stock market is a highly documented sector that contributes significantly to the public purse. They also give some suggestions to encourage people to invest in the stock market. Dar hopes PSX will reverse this trend and once again become one of the most successful stock markets in the region.
The KSE-100 PSX – a benchmark of market performance – was Asia’s best-performing index in 2016, much to the delight of thousands of investors, who believed the gold rush would continue. After nearly 45% returns in dollar terms for the average investor over the past year, new money is pouring in .However, 2017 proved to be a nightmare. Equity-based funds generate negative returns in the 10% and 20% ranges, while brokerage houses have to settle for lower volumes that reduce their returns.
