Farrukh H Khan resigns as Pakistan Stock Exchange CEO

Farrukh H Khan has resigned from the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX) to “pursue other opportunities”, nearly a year and a half before his tenure was set to end.

This was stated in a notice to the bourse on Friday.

“Farrukh H Khan has tendered his resignation from the position of Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited in order to pursue other opportunities,” read a notice released by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Later in its emergent meeting held to consider the resignation submitted by Farrukh H Khan, the PSX board, “with the utmost respect for Khan’s decision to pursue other opportunities, accepted his resignation”.

“The board appreciated Khan’s dedication and commitment to PSX and will work with him in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition to be concluded by September 2, 2024,” PSX said in its statement.

Last year, the Board of Directors of PSX renewed the term of Farrukh H Khan as CEO for the next three years, commencing from February 4, 2023.

Farrukh H Khan joined PSX in February 2020 at the time when Covid outbreak took place in Pakistan.

The pandemic had taken an early toll on Pakistan’s market, but there was panic elsewhere, too. The FTSE and S&Ps all fell. A few months later, the PSX was the target of a terrorist attack that took the lives of three security personnel, according to a statement at that time.

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Next year, Pakistan was also downgraded from its status as an emerging market, a little over four years after it was reclassified from the Frontier Markets (FM) Index by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).

Under Farrukh’s tenure, PSX activated the IPO window after a hiatus of 18 months. The Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) Board was introduced while debt market makers were signed on and activated.

The MD PSX also took measures to digitise the Exchange. Online Account Opening, EIPO, and Sahulat Account facilities were introduced. The digitisation of listing processes took place through the online portal called PRIDE (Public Offerings Revolutionized through an Integrated & Digitized Experience) and a webpage called Public PRIDE.

A major milestone achievement during his tenure was the Roshan Equity Investment account facility launched in liaison with the State Bank of Pakistan and leading banks to facilitate Non-resident Pakistanis to invest in the capital market of Pakistan.