Dar seeks joint economic roadmap for Pakistan
Pakistan Stock Exchange formally started functioning in Karachi on Monday after the merger of the stock exchanges of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar inaugurated the Pakistan Stock Exchange at a ceremony in Islamabad. The index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange is ‘PSX’.
Addressing the launch ceremony, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that a number of countries had shown interest in investing in Pakistan in different fields. He said that after the economic reforms and improvement of economy, Pakistan had become an attractive destination for investment.
He referred to $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and said that Saudi Arabia was also thinking to invest in Pakistan in petro-chemical, energy and refineries sector.
Dar said that predictions of default had been buried and now Pakistan’s economy had been recognised by 22 international institutions as a stable economy. He said that the government was now focusing on consolidation of economy. He said that Pakistan has a robust future.
The finance minister said that we have to take the country forward on the path of progress and prosperity and Pakistan Stock Exchange has an important role in this regard. He said the next target was to create job opportunities.
He said that it was the goal of the PML-N government to make Pakistan a sovereign, developed and prosperous country and added that the country is moving forward in that direction. He said that there should be no politics on projects of national importance and called for a joint economic roadmap.
The minister said that the government, according to its manifesto, is working on ‘four Es’ which include improving economy, overcoming energy shortage, curbing extremism and promotion of education. He said that work is continuing on all these sectors simultaneously.
He said that as a result of the Karachi operation, peace had returned to Karachi and business activities were flourishing. Under social safety net, he said, the number of beneficiaries of the BISP had been increased from 3 million to 5.3 million families.
The integration of three exchanges has completed the second phase of the Stock Exchanges Demutualisation and Integration Act 2012, passed by a joint session of the parliament.
The newly integrated national bourse, the Pakistan Stock Exchange, has replaced the stock markets of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, as all three exchanges have now been formally inducted into the unified ‘PSX’.
Prior to the formal launch on Monday, the Karachi Stock Exchange held a two-day pre-production mock trading session for all certificate holders of the three bourses on Saturday and Sunday.
The integration is expected to help reduce market fragmentation and create a strong case for attracting strategic partnerships necessary for providing technological expertise and assistance.