The calendar year 2008 eroded the last four years straight and unprecedented growth of local stock markets, as Pakistan’s leading benchmark KSE 100-share Index crashed by over 58 per cent to four years low of Dec 2004 level. The KSE 100 plummeted 58.332 per cent or 8,210.82 points on year-on-year basis to 5,865.01 points on Wednesday from 14,075.83 points on Jan 01. Over the same period, an outflow of Rs2.471 trillion from market capitalisation was also noted. Average daily volumes in the cash market fell 48 per cent in 2008 to 133 million shares. While foreign portfolio investors disinvested US$439 million in net during the year. The year started at local bourses with confidence, cheer, and smooth flight to record high till April despite a lot of hue and cry on political front. Banking, mutual funds, oil marketing companies, refineries, insurance, telecommunication, cement, fertilizer, automobile almost all of the economic sectors were performing on fast pace with every passing day. B...

Pakistan stocks on Wednesday continued to drop as the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index hit record low in more than four years. The KSE 100-share index plunged 172.37 points, or 2.85 percent, and closed at 5865.01 points with a trading volume of 78.7 million shares. The KSE index has shed more than 3,500 points from 9,446.81 points after its watchdog removed the trading floor on Dec. 15.

KARACHI: A leave to appeal filed by the stock brokers against a decision by a division bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) was disposed off here on Tuesday by a bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan comprising Justice Moosa K Leghari and Justice Zawwar Hussain Jafferi. When the appeal was taken up, the counsel for appellant stated that the main parties including the appellants and defendants National Clearing Company Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) has arrived at a negotiated settlement and in view of the this appellant is not inclined to press the appeal. The bench allowed the request and disposed off the appeal as not pressed. The controversy pertained to the CFS Mark II system would have resulted in collapse of the Karachi Stock Exchange after default of the main members. staff report

KARACHI - A three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday allowed out of the court settlement of the payment of the CFS arrears by the Karachi Stock Exchange brokers to the NCCPL. The SC decided this on the plea of the brokers, who informed the court they wanted an out of court settlement of the CFS issue. The SC adjourned the hearing of the case till December 30.

The process of due diligence for merger of KASB Bank with Atlas Bank will be completed within three weeks, KASB Bank President Muneer Kamal told The News on Monday. “Both banks are still carrying out valuation of each other’s balance sheets before the merger takes place,” he said. “Due diligence takes time and I think we are pretty much on track,” he said, referring to reports that the merger has been held up for some reasons. “It will be completed within 15-20 days.” KASB and Atlas banks earlier announced a merger of their operations in a bid to cope with tight liquidity environment for small banks.The merged entity with an equity of over Rs12 billion and 110 branches will have sound financial standing and wider reach to woo depositors, Atlas Bank President Aziz Rajkotwala said. The merger was supposed to be finalised by this year’s end but the banks are still evaluating the swap ratio in the merged entity, he said. “We are assessing who is going to have how many shares.” State Bank o...

Continuation of losing spree remained intact even on the third business week on Monday after the removal of floor when the dilapidated Karachi Stock Exchange went further down as KSE bourse had lost 192.85 points and wrapped up at 6294.67 tumbling another 2.97 percent - meaning the market has lost about 31.5 percent of its value and made the market to lose nearly a third of its value in just two weeks. The market has been melting down since December 15, when regulators removed a “floor” on the benchmark index imposed in August to stop such colossal losses to investors and brokers. The tumbling KSE-100 shed 192.85 points to close at 6,294.67 on Monday came down under 6,500 points first time where 83 scrips recorded gain, 113 landed in the negative column and 5 scrips remained unchanged out of a total of 201 companies. As usual the bourse opened in the negative zone and remained under selling pressure throughout the business session. Volume was at 61.4 million shares ��" an improvem...

ICI Pakistan Limited was incorporated as a public limited company in 1952 and is listed on all the three Stock Exchanges of Pakistan. ICI Pakistan is mainly engaged in the manufacture of polyester staple fiber, POY chips, soda ash, paints, specialty chemicals, sodium bicarbonate and polyurethanes. ICI Pakistan is also involved in the marketing of seeds, toll manufactured and imported pharmaceuticals and animal health products. The company also trades in general chemicals and acts as an indenting agent. ICI Omicron B.V. the associated company of ICI Pakistan Limited and a subsidiary of ICI Plc, UK continues to own 75.81% stake in the company. ICI Pakistan has a strong portfolio comprising of five different businesses namely Polyester, Soda ash, Paints, Chemicals and Life Sciences. The recent merger: An unprecedented strength and potential ICI Plc, UK in a recently takeover bid was acquired by a leading supplier of specialty chemicals and world’s largest global paints and coating company...