KSE can grow 25% ‘within days’
Given favourable conditions exist in Karachi: KSE MD.
A file photo showing Karachi Stock Exchange. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Managing Director Nadeem Naqvi said the KSE-100 Index – the key benchmark index of Pakistan’s biggest stock market – will grow by one-fourth of its current size ‘within days’ if law and order was restored in the financial capital of the country.
“The market can grow by 25% within days, provided we take care of the law and order situation in Karachi,” he told journalists at the local bourse after a gong-ringing ceremony on Wednesday morning.
“Volatility is going to continue in the near future. So I urge retail investors to stay away from satta (betting),” he said while referring to the practice of short-term investment by small investors in imitation of big players. “Retail investors should only make real investments with a horizon of at least six months to a year. Let the big players play their games. If you try to act smart, you will get hurt,” he said.
Naqvi noted that the KSE had strong underlying fundamentals, but its valuation is depressed because of the security situation. He noted that stock markets typically perform well right before the revival of direct investment in an economy with a sluggish growth rate. “Our strong market performance has given a positive signal, which is going to encourage direct investors, both domestic and international, to finally return to Pakistan.”
Earlier, UK-based Pakistan Society Chairman Sir William Blackburne hit the KSE gong four times to formally start Wednesday’s trading session. Founded in 1951, the Pakistan Society has 400 members, who are mostly British and Pakistani nationals. One of its aims is to increase public knowledge in Britain about Pakistan’s economic life and political institutions.
Speaking to reporters, Sir Blackburne said a number of new Britain-based companies are going to make investments in Pakistan. He stated neither the names of such companies nor the volume of the expected investment. However, he added that these companies are likely to invest in telecom and electronics sectors.
Asking the media to report positively on Pakistan’s investment potential, he said it was necessary that foreign investors knew Pakistan is not just about bomb blasts and terrorism. “I try to reassure (British) investors all the time that Pakistan is a country worth visiting and investing in,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2013.
Correction: An earlier version of this article was carrying an incorrect photo. The error has been fixed.
Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Managing Director Nadeem Naqvi said the KSE-100 Index – the key benchmark index of Pakistan’s biggest stock market – will grow by one-fourth of its current size ‘within days’ if law and order was restored in the financial capital of the country.
“The market can grow by 25% within days, provided we take care of the law and order situation in Karachi,” he told journalists at the local bourse after a gong-ringing ceremony on Wednesday morning.
“Volatility is going to continue in the near future. So I urge retail investors to stay away from satta (betting),” he said while referring to the practice of short-term investment by small investors in imitation of big players. “Retail investors should only make real investments with a horizon of at least six months to a year. Let the big players play their games. If you try to act smart, you will get hurt,” he said.
Naqvi noted that the KSE had strong underlying fundamentals, but its valuation is depressed because of the security situation. He noted that stock markets typically perform well right before the revival of direct investment in an economy with a sluggish growth rate. “Our strong market performance has given a positive signal, which is going to encourage direct investors, both domestic and international, to finally return to Pakistan.”
Earlier, UK-based Pakistan Society Chairman Sir William Blackburne hit the KSE gong four times to formally start Wednesday’s trading session. Founded in 1951, the Pakistan Society has 400 members, who are mostly British and Pakistani nationals. One of its aims is to increase public knowledge in Britain about Pakistan’s economic life and political institutions.
Speaking to reporters, Sir Blackburne said a number of new Britain-based companies are going to make investments in Pakistan. He stated neither the names of such companies nor the volume of the expected investment. However, he added that these companies are likely to invest in telecom and electronics sectors.
Asking the media to report positively on Pakistan’s investment potential, he said it was necessary that foreign investors knew Pakistan is not just about bomb blasts and terrorism. “I try to reassure (British) investors all the time that Pakistan is a country worth visiting and investing in,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2013.
Correction: An earlier version of this article was carrying an incorrect photo. The error has been fixed.