Chairman's Review
I am honored and privileged to welcome you to the 13
`h
Annual General Meeting of the Islamabad Stock Exchange. It is indeed a
matter of pride and satisfaction for both the management and members of the
Exchange that over the years the ISE has developed into a stable, confident
and vibrant capital market institution.
Islamabad Stock Exchange started the year
under review on a depressing note due to the security crisis following the
events of September 11 and its fallouts and an alarming border situation
gripping our country. However, the country's economic managers and the
government's market regulators took up the challenge and implemented sound
policies that quickly started paying dividends and proved fruitful in
rebuilding the confidence of our investors.
The result of these policies was that the ISE
index underwent a period of steep rise during the current year. Till to
date, the ISE has recorded 35% growth in its index where as the volume of
trade at ISE has also risen by 94%.
Another significant aspect of the year under review was a marked improvement
in the financial health of our organization. Never before our organization
recorded such a huge level of surplus and I am extremely happy to note that,
our efforts to revitalize the fiscal standing of the Exchange proved
successful. Concentrating mainly on the recovery of outstanding dues owed by
some of the listed companies, the ISE has ended the year with a record
surplus of Rs. 24 Million. This increased cash flow enabled us to take some
important steps towards improving the liquidity of our stock market and to
build our capacity to concentrate on new initiatives
The first and foremost task facing the ISE was to improve the trading
technology thereby providing speedy and stable solutions for the conduct of
trade to our members. In this connection, the switch over to new trading
software was considered vital for helping in the increase of trading volume
at ISE. It was with this view that the ISE finalized a contract to acquire
the Ultra trade software with the Lahore Stock Exchange. The new software
that is under the process of customization at LSE, will bring further
efficiency to our stock market besides providing additional
functionalities-the prime being the ability to provide on-line trading
facility to our members/investors. The on-line trading facility will enable
the investors to access their stockbroker's houses directly from their
homes/offices and get their trading orders executed instantly. We are
hopeful that the requisite software will be in place sometimes at the
beginning of the next year.
The ISE is also at an advanced stage to launch few other initiatives for the
purpose of promoting investor's education/awareness about stock market
investments. In this connection, an 'Investor Information Center' is being
established at the ISE that can accommodate about one hundred people at one
time. The ISE aims to widely publicize this initiative to attract general
public to come and visit our Stock Exchange so as to learn about the
functioning of the stock markets. With the start of this information center,
we are on the way to become the first stock market to open itself for
investor's visitation by providing a series of educational services to our
potential investors. Some of the progmammes through which the education will
be imparted to the investors involve; airing of a documentary about the
ISE/Stock Market Investments, conducted tours of the Exchange and a resource
library at this information center.
The next initiative in this line is to provide a Universal Access Number at
the ISE to serve as 'Investor's Hotline'. This hotline is designed to enable
callers to get answers to basic questions on investing such as how to invest
in stocks and achieve financial security. It will also provide answers to
their general queries and advise them about redressal of their complaints.
The ISE plans to provide this facility alongside the start of the Investor
Information Center.
I am very confident that with these developments, our Exchange will be able
to transform the prevalent investment culture and will be able to attract
many new investors towards investment in stocks. At the same time, I am also
pleased to inform you that the ISE has appointed Mr. Aftab Ahmad Ch. to
serve as the full time Managing Director of the Exchange. The appointment of
the new Managing Director in consultation with the SECP has greatly helped
in improving the affairs of the Exchange. We believe that with his addition,
the ISE will make strides towards becoming a leading stock market of the
country.
I also take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported the ISE
throughout the period of its development. As always, we have maintainedvery
close and cordial relations with all the relevant government functionaries.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Chairman, Securities and
Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Mr. Khalid A. Mirza and all the other
senior officials of the Commission for their guidance and support on all
matters throughout the year.
I also place on record my appreciation for cooperation and assistance of the
Vice Chairman of the Exchange that he rendered to me throughout the year. I
also wish to record my gratitude to all my colleagues on the Board as well
as Members of the Exchange for their full support and valuable advice, which
helped me to greatly accomplish my tasks in a fulfilling manner. I would
also like to thank the staff for the cooperation they extended to me in the
discharge of my responsibilities.
As I prepare to make way for the new Chairman and the Directors, I am
extremely happy to note that ISE now stands on secure financial and
operational footings and hope that the new office bearers will contribute to
work with the same zeal as our founding members and the previous managements
have done in the past. I am sure that the ISE will continue to provide
"prosperity through transparent market."
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Omer Iqbal Pasha |