PSX welcomes four board directors from China

Quartet, who have 40% stake, replace members from SECP

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) welcomed four nominees from China on Friday, as board of directors to represent the 40% stake bought by the consortium through competitive bidding in December.

The new directors include Que Bo from Shanghai Stock Exchange, Zheng Hu from China Financial Futures Exchange, Yu Huali from Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Li Peng from Pak-China Investment Company.



The quartet would play a leading role in appointment of the PSX’s chief executive, chief financial officer and chief regulatory officer since they have been given rights to make nominations on the posts, while full-board would finalise the appointments.



On the other hand, they have replaced the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) four nominees on the board.

On the occasion, SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi hailed the new directors and appreciated contribution of the outgoing members. He also expressed his desire that the consortium would play a pivotal role by ensuring a commercially driven strategy.

“A detailed three-year business plan is anticipated from PSX, which should propose concrete measures for development and activation of the equity, debt, derivatives, SME and commodities markets, along-with practical initiatives for expansion of market outreach and investor base,” he stated in a hand-out.

The chairman added that the board should conform to the highest standards of governance and the management should be strong, professional and independent.



Meanwhile, he reiterated that in line with the SECP’s policy of zero tolerance towards market manipulation and unfair trade practices, the PSX must focus on strong enforcement, compliance and risk management.

Previously, the Chinese consortium acquired 40% (320 million shares) stake in PSX at Rs28 per share, translating into Rs8.96 billion (approximately $86 million).

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.