PMEX plans expansion after 1,026 percent growth

KARACHI – Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited (PMEX), the country’s de-mutualised commodity exchange has seen trading volumes continuing to hit historic highs. The exchange now plans to further expand in the commodities listed at the Exchange during the current financial year.
The PMEX management indicates that the new items to be listed on the commodity market by the year’s end will include sugar, wheat, maize, basmati rice and currency futures. Currently, trading on the PMEX is carried out in gold, silver, crude oil, IRRI-6 Rice, Palm Oil and KIBOR futures. “During 2011, PMEX expects to list sugar, wheat, maize, basmati rice and currency futures,” said PMEX Managing Director Samir Ahmed.
The managing director said growth in trading volumes at the exchange was accompanied by increased product diversification. “While a year ago almost all trading was in gold, last quarter’s activity was spread over gold (55 percent), silver (20 percent) and crude oil (25 percent),” he revealed.
This, he said, was indicative of the increasing interest on the part of investors as well as well as bearing testimony to rapidly increasing expertise of commodity brokers. “We are very encouraged by the sustained growth on the Exchange and are optimistic that in the coming months our brokers will continue to increase their coverage and focus on various new commodities,” said Ahmed.
According to PMEX, during March, trading volumes at the exchange crossed the record Rs 50 billion mark over the first quarter of 2011. It is also indicated that the overall first quarter volume saw an astonishing growth of 1,026 percent in terms of value traded over the same period last year and a 62 percent increase over the previous quarter.
The PMEX increased its operational timings last month and is now open almost around the clock with trading in gold, silver and crude oil available from 5 AM to 2 AM the next day.
Licensed and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the PMEX recently changed its name from National Commodity Exchange to better reflect its broad mandate and scope of activity to trade all types of futures contracts.
The exchange began its operations in May 2007 as a fully electronic exchange with nationwide reach and now is the country’s first and only de-mutualised exchange with a 100 percent institutional shareholding.