It is a moment of immense pleasure, great pride and privilege for me to captain the smooth sailing of NIT in to the Golden Jubilee year.
Today is very special, historic and memorable day for this national financial institution as, 50 years ago, on 12-November-1962 on the instructions of the Government of Pakistan, our pioneering colleagues had laid the foundation of a new business of Mutual Fund which was only known to a very few in Pakistan at that time.
But with the collective wisdom of our peers and their continued commitment to the cause, very soon, NITL slowly and steadily started to gain momentum and grew to become nation's first and the largest asset management company today. We owe our sincere thanks and appreciations for that pioneering team and will always remember their relentless, untiring efforts for providing administrative and legal framework to a new financial institution. God bless them all.
NIT's outstanding work for five long decades in an immensely competitive environment when a lot of exciting new players had appeared in the Mutual Fund arena is evident from its handsome dividends that we pay every year. Thanks to the prudent and visionary strategies of NIT leadership that NIT has succeeded in maintaining currently the largest number of portfolios, to the tune of around 79 billion assets. Our customer base has increased many fold to become more than 57 thousand unit holders who have always admired our professionalism and fund management skills to safeguard their interests. Today NIT's share in Pakistan's entire Mutual Funds Industry is 18% and we hold 86% in open-ended equities. This is a great landmark of confidence that our unit holders have reposed on us. On this happy occasion I wish all NIT unit holders a very happy Golden Jubilee year and once again assure them on behalf of all my NIT colleagues that we will continue to strive hard to serve them with added dedication and zeal in the days to come.
On this delightful and memorable day when we are celebrating this great leap forward, I would also like to thank all employees of NIT from the core of my heart. It is my firm belief that we would not have made it possible without their co-operation, dutifulness and unmatched integrity with the organisation which has carved the path of success for the stable growth of NIT and has enabled us to become the custodian of largest portfolios of listed companies, highest percentage in share of business and playing a leading role in the Mutual Fund Industry of Pakistan. I thank them all. Wherever they remain posted, they are the backbone of NIT.
On this memorable occasion all our friends, well wishers, unit holders, national media, our corporate clients, Trustees and above all our regulatory authority SECP and our mentor Government of Pakistan, all are on board with us on this cruise of success of half a century. Pakistan Post has paid preserving tribute to this national organisation today by issuing a commemorative postal stamp on NIT's Golden Jubilee. Good will messages are flooding in conveying us warm sentiments on achieving this milestone.
Fifty years of undaunted services cannot be considered as a small success but it shall not cause any aging effect on NIT. I assure you that we will never be a complacent. We will continue to work with more dedication. The new journey has started. We have a commitment with this nation, with our unit holders and our corporate clients that what our predecessors had built during the last half-century will be protected, developed and handed over to our future generation.
We are committed to proceed further with expansion programs and induction of new products with the sole purpose to serve our clients at our best and contribute in the growth of national economy.
On this auspicious occasion I bow my head with humility in front of Allah for the singular honour, which HE has bestowed upon me to lead this organisation at this point of time. I am once again thankful to all our peers, well wishers, corporate clients, unit holders, our regularity authority SECP, our Trustees, and the Government of Pakistan and last but not the least our employees who are celebrating this great occasion all over Pakistan with great joy and enthusiasm.