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Showing posts from May 18, 2009

In-house badla — to be or not to be

KARACHI: Numerous stockbrokers, who supported the movement for the removal of ‘badla’ system of share financing, were jubilant when their wish was granted. While many who spearheaded the movement, vow never to let what they believe is a ‘haram’ interest product, to sneak back into the market, there are others, who were earlier swept by the crowd, but are now taking a step back and looking at the results. That is not to say that anyone is floating the idea of revisiting age old mode of share financing prevalent in just the sub-continent, variously named: the badla, the COT or the COT Mk-II. But with each passing day as the volume of business at the market continues to shrink. Currently at 125 million shares and nearly one-half of the average number of share traded daily early last year, the absence of a widely useable leverage product is being badly felt. All of that has put the spotlight on a modified form of the old system — the ‘in-house’ badla. Haji Ghani Haji Usman, an old time bro