Latest news with #ArifHabibCorporation
Arab News
a day ago
- Business
- Arab News
Five groups submit qualification documents in Pakistan's renewed push to privatize PIA
KARACHI: Pakistan has received qualification documents from five investor groups seeking to acquire a controlling stake in its loss-making national carrier, the Privatization Commission said on Thursday, as the government advances a long-delayed divestment plan. The privatization of state-owned entities has been mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Pakistan works to implement structural reforms and stabilize its economy, which has recently shown signs of macroeconomic improvement. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), in particular, has survived for years on government bailouts, placing further strain on the country's already cash-strapped finances. The government invited expressions of interest in April for a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent in Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL), along with management control. The final deadline for submitting Statements of Qualification (SOQs) was today. 'The Privatization Commission received Expression of Interest (EOI) from ... eight interested parties,' the official statement said, adding that 'five interested parties submitted SOQs by the deadline today.' Among the groups that submitted documents are a consortium comprising Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures; a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation with Fatima Fertilizer, City Schools and Lake City Holdings; Air Blue Limited; Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, which is a military-backed firm; and a consortium including Serene Air, Augment Securities, Bahria Foundation, Mega C&S Holding and Equitas. The government had previously attempted to privatize PIA in 2024 but called off the process after receiving a single bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) from Blue World City — far below the Rs85 billion ($305 million) floor price. The sale was scrapped, citing the airline's weak financial position and unattractive terms for buyers. PIA has long been a fiscal liability, with operational earnings repeatedly offset by heavy debt servicing. However, following restructuring, it reported an operating profit of Rs9.3 billion ($33.1 million) in April, its first in 21 years. 'The SOQs submitted by the parties will be evaluated by the Privatization Commission against the prequalification criteria,' the official statement informed. 'The prequalified parties will proceed to the next stage where they will be given access to the virtual data room to undertake buy-side due diligence.'
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PSX ends with significant downturn
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) concluded its trading session on Wednesday with a significant downturn, reflecting an intensifying bearish trend that saw all key benchmark indices finish deep in the red. The benchmark KSE100 Index recorded a substantial decline of 1,505.11 points or 1.23 percent, to settle at 120,466 points. This marks a sharper retreat compared to yesterday's 0.21 percent loss. Throughout the day, the index navigated a volatile range, peaking at 121,905.50 points before finding its intraday low at 120,418 points. On Wednesday, BRIndex100 closed at 12,977.46 points, down by 141.94 points or 1.08 percent, with a total volume of 476.34 million shares. BRIndex30 closed at 37,255.87 points, a decrease of 727.23 points or 1.91 percent, with a total volume of 297.43 million. 'Weak global equities, a falling rupee, and persistent concerns over the economic outlook triggered panic selling at the PSX,' said Ahsan Mehanti, Director at Arif Habib Corporation. Stocks fell across the board on Wednesday, as elevated Middle East tensions and investor concerns over a dismal $103 million current account deficit for May 2025 — driven by surging imports — further dampened investor sentiment. The combination of external pressures and weak macroeconomic indicators played a catalyst role in dragging the market lower. Trading activity saw a notable contraction across all segments compared to the previous day, indicating reduced investor participation amid the prevailing apprehensions. Total turnover in the Ready Market declined sharply to approximately 707.30 million shares, a substantial drop from yesterday's 1.15 billion shares. Concurrently, the traded value in the Ready Market also decreased to approximately Rs 21.27 billion from Rs 27.98 billion. The overall market capitalization experienced a significant contraction of approximately Rs 170.35 billion, shrinking from Rs 14.780 trillion yesterday to Rs 14.610 trillion today. Among the top companies by turnover in the Ready Market, WorldCall Telecom once again led the charge with a substantial 110.91 million shares traded, closing at Rs 1.50. Prud Mod. Ist followed with 51.71 million shares that closed at Rs 4.61, and Pervez Ahmed Co saw 41.07 million shares change hands and finished at Rs 3.15. In terms of price movements, Macter International Limited surged by Rs 46.72 to close at Rs 513.90, and Hinopak Motors Limited gained Rs 41.00 to finish at Rs 451.03. On the losing end, PIA Holding Company Limited experienced a sharp decline of Rs 1,530.02, settling at Rs 13770.15, while Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited dropped by Rs 211.00 to close at Rs 22,989.00. The market breadth overwhelmingly skewed towards the negative, signalling widespread selling pressure. In the Ready Market, a mere 102 companies advanced, while a significant 327 declined and 41 remained unchanged out of the total 470 traded entities. The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 20,468.16, marking a negative change of 308.15 points or 1.48 percent, with a total turnover of 3.97 million shares. The BR Cement Index concluded at 10,241.72 points, down by 132.91 points or 1.28 percent, and recorded a total turnover of 33.43 million. Meanwhile, the BR Commercial Banks Index while experiencing a decrease of 356.49 points or 0.97 percent finished at 36,512.82 points, with a total turnover of 50.65 million. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 20,846.64, reflecting a negative change of 565.63 points or 2.64 percent, and a total turnover of 13.45 million. The BR Oil and Gas Index ended at 11,550.92, declining by 175.32 points or 1.5 percent, with a total turnover of 51.91 million. Lastly, the BR Technology & Communication Index closed at 2,864.30, showing a decrease of 82.49 points or 2.8 percent, and a total turnover of 138.95 million. In its commentary, the Topline Securities cited that the PSX endured a lacklustre trading session on Wednesday, mirroring the nervous sentiment across global markets. It said that rising geopolitical tensions, particularly the escalating standoff between Iran and Israel, weighed heavily on investor confidence. The atmosphere of uncertainty prompted a risk-averse approach, leaving the market directionless for most of the day. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PSX nudges up
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) concluded Monday's trading session with a mixed performance across its indices, reflecting a nuanced market sentiment. While the benchmark KSE-100 Index managed a modest gain, broader market activity indicated a tug-of-war between bullish and bearish forces. The KSE-100 Index registered a fractional gain of 81.79 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 122,225.36 points, up from its previous close of 122,143.57 points. It touched an intraday high of 122,903.34 points before paring some gains. On Monday, BRIndex100 closed at 13,105.34 points, up 68.08 points or 0.52 percent higher than its previous close. Total volume was 958.399 million shares. Meanwhile, BRIndex30 closed at 37,995.17 points, which was 268.88 points or 0.71 percent higher than its previous close. Total volume remained 591.865 million shares. According to Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation, the PSX's positive close was driven by several factors. Stocks advanced despite geopolitical risks, fueled by speculation over the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) policy announcement expected later on Monday. Furthermore, high trade volumes amidst market consolidation, a recovery in global equities, and upbeat FY26 projections from the IMF regarding privatization and GDP growth, alongside the federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) in the Federal Budget FY26, all played a catalytic role. Total Ready Market turnover for the day stood at 1.224 billion shares, an increase from the previous session's 968.346 million shares. However, the traded value in the Ready Market saw a decline to Rs 25.75 billion from Rs 29.55 billion on the prior day, indicating a lower average price per share traded despite increased volume. The market capitalization notably increased to Rs 14.802 trillion from Rs 14.748 trillion, an uplift of Rs 54.179 billion. Market breadth in the Ready Market remained positive, with 282 companies advancing against 159 declining, while 30 remained unchanged out of a total of 471 traded scrips. This suggests a tilt towards gainers despite the overall modest index performance. On Monday, WorldCall Telecom led the turnover charts with 267.081 million shares changing hands, closing at Rs 1.62. Other active scrips included Pervez Ahmed Co., which saw 92.03 million shares traded and ended at Rs 3.93. Meanwhile, Ist. Capital Sec also saw significant trading activity with over 86 million shares traded, closing higher at Rs 3.85. Among the top gainers, Macter International Limited surged by Rs 38.61 to close at Rs 424.71, and Blessed Textiles Limited increased by Rs 26.89 to Rs 304.91. Conversely, PIA Holding Company LimitedB experienced a notable decrease of Rs 1,888.91, closing at Rs 17,000.19, and Khyber Textile Mills Limited saw a decline of Rs 179.45 to Rs 1,615.10. The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 20,796.37 points, registering a negative change of 0.09 percent, with a total turnover of 9.432 million shares. Similarly, the BR Cement Index saw a decline of 70.09 points or 0.67 percent, settling at 10,438.92 points, with 88.206 million shares traded. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index also experienced a significant dip, falling by 410.53 points or 1.84 percent to 21,945.16 points, on a turnover of 28.033 million shares. Conversely, the BR Commercial Banks Index gained 325.37 points or 0.89 percent, closing at 36,742.67 points, with a turnover of 40.802 million shares. The BR Oil and Gas Index also advanced by 100.71 points or 0.87 percent, reaching 11,711.61 points, as 54.234 million shares changed hands. Leading the positive change was the BR Technology & Communication Index, which climbed 30.13 points or 1.04 percent to close at 2,933.12 points, and recorded a turnover of 342.234 million shares. The day's trading reflected selective buying interest in certain sectors, indicating that investors are keenly evaluating specific company fundamentals amidst the broader economic indicators and the prevailing geopolitical climate. In its commentary, JS Global cited that the market opened on a positive note but failed to sustain momentum. It eventually closed at 122,225 points, as profit-taking emerged later in the session. Trading activity was dominated by small-cap stocks, reflecting short-term speculative interest. Risk management remains key amid geopolitical uncertainty and macro developments, it added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
PSX witnesses slight recovery
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed slight recovery amid speculations in the pre-budget session and hopes for a real estate package in the federal budget led cement stocks. The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 112 points or 0.09 percent, settling at 118,333 points on Tuesday as against 118,221 points on Monday. The index also touched an intraday high of 118,807.92 points and a low of 118,143.68 points. On Tuesday, BRIndex100 ended at 12,676.85 points, which was 14.97 points or 0.12 percent higher than the previous close with the total volume of 267.623 million shares. BRIndex30 also increased by 195.4 points or 0.52 percent to settle at 37,554.66 points with the total share trading volume of 267.623 million. Ahsan Mehnati of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks showed recovery amid speculations in the pre-budget session. However, investor concerns over IMF disagreement on key budgetary targets, subsidies and rupee instability invited mid-session pressure. Government measures for raising tax collection and easing fiscal deficit played a catalyst role in positive close at PSX, he added. The market witnessed investor's interest in the market as total ready market turnover rose to 690.39 million shares on Tuesday up from 635.535 million shares in the previous session. The value of shares traded also saw an increase from Rs 18.576 billion to Rs 23.282 billion. Moreover, the overall market capitalization also saw an uptick by Rs 22 billion to Rs 14.347 trillion on Tuesday, compared to Rs 14.325 trillion on Monday. Out of the 459 actively traded companies, the share value of 211 companies increased, while that of 210 companies decreased, and 38 companies' share values remained unchanged. Positive momentum was driven by notable contributions from MEBL, SYS, PKGP, PPL, and DGKC, which together added 223 points to the index. Among the most notable traded companies, K-Electric Ltd. ranked first with 267.523 million shares closing at Rs 5.89, followed by WorldCall Telecom, of which 31.56 million shares were traded and it closed at Rs 1.30. PTCL ranked third and closed at Rs 24.28 with 20 million shares turnover. PIA Holding Company Limited B again recorded the highest gains increase by Rs 2206.95 and closed at a new high of Rs 24,276.48 followed by Khyber Textile Mills Limited whose share price value closed at Rs 2,306.37, up by Rs 209.67. Moreover, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited and Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited faced notable losses with share values decreased by Rs 471.19 and Rs 100 respectively to close at Rs 10,284.04 and Rs 23,000. Meanwhile, BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 21,352.89 points with a net negative change of 149.38 points or 0.69 percent with the total turnover remaining 2.182 million shares. BR Cement Index gained 171.49 points or 1.73 percent to settle at 10,077.66 points with a total turnover of 65.207 million. BR Commercial Banks Index closed at 34,591.16 points down by 87.43 points or 0.25 percent with a total turnover of 17.75 million shares. On the other hand, BR Power Generation and Distribution Index ended at 20,109.46 points with a net positive change of 46.1 points or 0.23 percent with total turnover of 274.659 million shares. BR Oil & Gas Index closed at 11,454.97 points with a net positive change of 42.98 points or 0.38 percent on 27.1 million shares turnover. While BR Technology & Communication Index finished at 4,988.19 points marking a positive change of 30.55 points or 0.62 percent, with total turnover of 80.194 million shares. In its commentary, Topline's sales desk says that the overall market activity remained buoyant, with the KSE-100 index experiencing a range-bound session on Tuesday. The index traded within a narrow band, largely due to rollover pressures and lingering uncertainty surrounding the upcoming budget. This cautious sentiment led to a lack of significant market direction, with investors adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of the budget announcement, analysts added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
