In order to promote the spirit of responsiveness of the listed sector to their shareholders, South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) held one day seminar titled "the Role and Value of Investor Relations" at Lahore here on Monday. The seminar was attended by the professionals from many of the top listed companies.
The seminar was designed to apprise the professionals of the listed companies about the responsibilities of having better "Investor Relations" departments within the companies so as to regularly engage the investors about the affairs of the companies. The seminar aimed to inform the participants that in an age when instant corporate information can be transmitted to an international audience via the internet, sms or mobile technology; the reliance of companies only on the annual report and AGM may result in the loss of visibility and investors following.
Furthermore, non-engagement of the investors by the companies may also lead in the illiquidity of the stock, poor valuation and unhappy shareholders. Accordingly, the purpose of the seminar was to highlight to the listed companies that the challenge for them during the internet age is to secure investors interest by delivering regular information in a clear and timely manner.
It may be mentioned that globally the shareholders have become more aware of their rights and more assertive in their attitudes, and shareholders activism would become increasingly common in Pakistan. It is because of this reason that the companies need to be more aware of this and treat their investors fairly and manage their expectations through the development of effective IR programmes. The participants termed the programme as very useful as it highlighted the importance and the benefits of having dedicated Investor Relations professionals in their companies.
The participants also appreciated the fact that the Investor Relations subject is not being paid enough attention in Pakistan, whereas the standardised practices associated with this function are almost assuming the requirements for stricter compliance in many other parts of the world. It was also discovered that in Pakistan, the training opportunities or capacity building initiatives related to the subject of Investor Relations were next to none and the subject needed to be covered in great length by the professional as well as the educational training institutions.
The seminar was addressed by Ahmad Hassan, the managing partner of the well-known law firm Hassan-Kaunain-Nafees, Ayla Majid, the director of business advisory services at the Chartered Accountancy firm M/s KMR, and Aftab Ahmad Chaudhry, the MD/CEO of Lahore Stock Exchange and the Secretary General of South Asian Federation of Exchanges.-PR
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