Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) Chairman Hamash Khan has said demutualisation of the stock market will be completed by December since they have sent all the requirements to the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
He was talking to reporters at a LSE Iftar reception here on Friday. He also said requirements of demutualisation had already been met by the LSE, which has been submitted to the SECP and it would decide the faith of demutualisation. Hamash Khan hoped that demutualization of stock exchanges would give new depths and breadths to country's capital market.
To a question, he said both Syria and Ghana have shown interest to acquire the state of the art trading software 'Ultra Trade' that was developed by the LSE. "Soon, these countries would send their teams to Pakistan in this connection," he added.
According to him, technology being used by Lahore Stock Exchange had won world acclaim and delegates to the recently held training programme of South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) had also shown keen interest in it.
Regarding appointment of new LSE Managing Director, the LSE Chairman said they have sent three names to the SECP and hoped the commission would appoint new MD from these names. He told the reporters that they were also trying to attract new companies in the LSE listing.
Hamesh Khan, who is also President of Bank of Punjab (BoP), said the merger of The Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank Limited (PPCBL) with BoP was expected by December this year. "The Punjab government has appointed AF Ferguson for the evaluation of PPCBL's assets before the possible merger," he added. He said the BoP was setting a branch in Karachi in the near future, taking the number of its branches in Pakistan to 272.