Pakistan Stock Exchange now accepting bids to sell its 20% stake

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began taking bids in a plan to offset 20% of its value to individual investors and companies.

The bidding process is meant to take two days with the focus of offering high net worth individuals and retail investors a 20% stake in the ownership of the Stock Exchange. The bidding process began with a price of Rs28 per share. At the end of the bidding process, a strike price will be reached which the 20% stake in the PSX will trade at. The 20% stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange is the equivalent of 160 million shares and will be offered to individual investors with a high net worth and to retail investors according to a PSX press release.

The press release also notes that retail investors will be offered 40.074 million shares (25 percent of the value offered) at the strike price. The rest of the shares shall be offered to the public with any excess being offered to investors on a pro-rata basis.

It is a great opportunity for investors in Pakistan and beyond given that the country’s only stock exchange is up for grabs. With the good performance of the economy over the recent past, investors who will take advantage of this offer stand a chance to make good gains going forward. The 20% offering of the PSX comes after a consortium from China scooped up 40 percent of the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s shareholding at a price of Rs28 each share. This further proves the fact that there is a lot of confidence in the performance of the PSX from this moment onwards.

A recent forecast by the World Bank of the Pakistan economy indicated that it is destined to grow tremendously owing to the developments being witnessed in various industries in the country. This information will likely fuel demand for the PSX shares.

Pakistan becomes only the second country after India to make a public offering of its shares after India in terms South East Asia region. The offering by the Bombay Stock Exchange was a huge success and the same expectations are with the PSX.