Country's first National Commodity Exchange Limited (NCEL) will start operation from February 7, and gold has been selected as first commodity to be traded on the board, sources said on Wednesday.
"Yes, we have decided to start the operation next week and the final date will be decided during today's NCEL board of directors meeting" Assim Jang, managing director (MD) of NCEL told Business Recorder.
He said that the first launch would be next week but the formal launch will be made with in the next two or three weeks. He said that all arrangements for the trading has been completed and in the first phase of trading, NCEL members will trade from their existing offices. However, later NCEL members will be shifted to the new building Heyaat Regency in front of the PIDC house, soon after its completion, he added.
The trading in exchange will start with three-month gold futures contracts and later other commodities including rice, sugar, wheat, crude palm oil and cotton yarn will be added in the trading at the end of the current year 2007, sources apprised.
They said that the commodity exchange will operate for two hours every day from February 7, however, within next two months it will operate for 12 hours a day from Monday to Friday.
Haji Ghani Haji Usman member board of directors of NCEL said that "all arrangements have been completed and we are expecting that trading would be started from February 7 of 2007 and on Thursday (today) we will finally announce the date".
He said that members are also pressurising them to start the operation as soon as possible, as delay in the operation will create more difficulties for the members.
He said that NCEL's paid-up capital is worth Rs 50 million and 283 members, while the Karachi Stock Exchange has a share of 40 percent, similarly, Lahore Stock Exchange and Islamabad Stock Exchange, each hold 20 percent share. In addition, Kuwait Investment Bank and Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan also have 10 percent of each share.
In this regard, the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued a license in 2002, and NCEL management purchase Heyaat Regency building in 2003 worth Rs 530 million from privatisation commission. Later SECP gave permission for the future trading of gold to the management of NCEL to kick-start its formal operations.