Pakistan all set for historic West-Central zone market

New index could be reclassified to MSCI Emerging Markets.

Pakistan has laid down the foundations of the historic West-Central Zone capital market as the big projects start emerging on the economic-business screens of the region.
It will be more profits, more money for all the millions of these countries. The key element of the region's capital market will be the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) which was founded last week, at Karachi, by merging the Karachi Stock Exchange which is internationally described as the highly valued and big dividend-yielding and among the best in South Asia's 10 most profitable ones, as well as one of the best in the world.
Founding the PSX, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar called it an historic day for capital markets, economic progress of Pakistan and the region.
"With the establishment of the new integrated national bourse, the stock markets of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have been formally merged into PSX, which began functioning on Monday - January 11. The formal titles of indexes such as KSE-30 and KSE-100 will be converted to PSX-30 and PSX-100 in a few days," Dar said.
The PSX will operate from Karachi Stock Exchange under the new set up, the Lahore Stock Exchange has been  converted into LS Financial Services Limited (LSE-FSL), with the licence of a non-banking financial institution (NBFI).
The Islamabad Stock Exchange has been converted into ISE-REIT Management Company. The brokers of LSE and ISE have been absorbed along with members of KSE as certificate holders of PSX.
"The formation of a single national stock exchange will send a positive message abroad and attract more foreign investors in the country's capital market," Dar said.
It will help fund more projects across the region where a very large number of big projects are being
completed under CPEC and Central Asian Plans. The finance minister asked the business community to "propose incentives to encourage new listings on the PSX.
The capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) endorses the merger of the three exchanges. SECP chairman Zafar Hijazi said it has been realised that without integration of the three exchanges, no strategic investor will come forward. The decision to merge three exchanges has been taken in consultation with the three bourses.
"Now with the structural overhaul in place, the PSX must act as an effective frontline regulator, with complete segregation  of its commercial and regulatory functions. The task will be done by a strong and a well governed Board of Governors."
"Because of our improving economic indicators and compliance with global benchmarks, the MSCI Pakistan Index has been included in 2016 Annual Market Classification Review for a potential re-classification to MSCI Emerging Markets," Hijazi said.
The Pakistani business and the private stake holders in the capital market are now much more optimistic for the market to expand and larger foreign inflows to take place.
Munir Kamaal, chairman of the PSX said local as well as foreign investors are taking keen interest in our capital market because of the rapidly improving economic indicators and situation of the country.
"Pakistan's corporate governance and performance is close to the world standard. The formation of the united national stock exchange, will improve it further," he added. 
"But, there are some flaws in our taxation system. The PSX will look forward that its proposals already sent to the government will resolve these matters soon to further boost the capital market, and help enlarge foreign investments in our equities," Kamaal said.
Looking at the recent, large-scale capital movements, and Pakistan being a very open economy, with highly pro-foreign finance-and-business the country under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it is projected to attract large investments, foreign and domestic capital scions of the market, and business leaders have told Dar.
The timing of founding of the PSX at Karachi is projected to be highly profitable, too. It hits the scene as the new West-Central Zone (WCZ) has come up, and under which a number of huge infrastructure, energy, road and rail communications and IT projects are moving up towards their completion. The projects are being funded and built in the region which extends from Gwadar-South Pakistan on the lip of Straits of Hurmoz touching borders of UAE to Iran, and moving north to Central Asian Countries (CAC) and Europe, and to East it includes China. A considerable part of the funding moves through Karachi and the Pakistani financial network, as it originates from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Pakistan, China and Hong Kong.
The projects which are already being completed fast, and are internationally funded include: Central Asia-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India energy grid, Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline, and half a dozen infrastructure-energy-and railroad projects funded by the private and official Chinese sources as part of the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
"The Chinese investment of $46 billion in the CPEC is only the first phase that will be completed by 2018. But billions of more funds will be forthcoming as implementation of the second and later phases of the Corridor are taken in hand and completed on a fast track basis," Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, said last week at the Chinese-built Gwadar port.
The new, and enlarged, Pakistan Stock Exchange has been founded as a result of 15 years of legislative work by merging the two smaller exchanges at Lahore and Islamabad. It is turning into being a good omen. The founding of the PSX was marked by Saudi Arabia saying "it plans to invest in Pakistan's petro-chemical, energy and oil refinery projects." This was confirmed by Dar but he promised to, later, unveil the Saudi plans and size of the proposed investments.
Iran has announced to build a new rail connection between its eastern port of Chahbahar and Pakistan's newly-built port of Gwadar.
Views expressed are the author's own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.
The day was also marked by foreign investors  and the government indicating that Pakistan's energy crisis and woes of the people are going to end soon, as investment has been lined up to generate and bring on line 10,000 megawatts of electricity by end-2017 or March 2018, Ahsan Iqbal. Beyond that date investors have lined up project to generate an additional 14,000 megawatts of electricity.
The electricity sector, in this way will have a additional 24,000 megawatts of energy. All these plans relate to CPEC and funding by several other foreign countries and private investors.
Nadeem Naqvi, mangng dirctor of the Karachi Stock Exchange, said Pakisan continues to be the best performing stock markets in local currency terms in Asia over the last five years.
"In calander year 2015 when absolute change in KSE-100 was a mere two per cent, Pakistan market was the second best performing in Asia. But most of the markets displayed negative returns. Those, among the 10 which followed Pakistan were: Philipines, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and Singapore."
Naqvi highlights several highly profitable sectors for investment in Pakistan. These include: coastal vegetaion, solar and wind farms, environmental clean up, recycleable materials,  agri-technologies, solar public lighting, roof top solar energy, urban waste recycling, mass transit, and micro hydel power plants.
While all this is now crystal clear for investment in Pakistan and W-C Zone, its time to move in with large foreign investment. Any one for big dividend and high dividends?

• Pakistan