SOCHI, Russia: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed “a historic agreement” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after hours of talks between the two leaders over the conflict in Syria.
“According to this agreement, Turkey and Russia will not allow any separatist agenda on Syrian territory,” Erdogan said, addressing reporters alongside Putin after the talks in the Russian city of Sochi.
Erdogan also announced a 150-hour deadline beginning on Wednesday for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons to be moved back 30 kilometers from the Turkish border.
“Within 150 hours starting at 1200 noon on October 23, YPG terrorists and their weapons will be removed to the depth of 30 kilometers and their ... positions will be destroyed,” Erdogan said.
He added that after the deadline, Turkish and Russian joint patrols would start in two zones stretching 10 km to the east and west of the area of Turkey’s current Operation Peace Spring.
“All YPG terrorists in Tal Firat and Manbij will be removed outside this region, together with their weaponry,” he said.
Erdogan also said both countries would take necessary measures against “terrorist infiltrations” and create a “joint mechanism” to coordinate the agreement.
Erdogan hails ‘historic agreement’ with Putin over Syria
Erdogan hails ‘historic agreement’ with Putin over Syria
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan: According to this agreement, Turkey and Russia will not allow any separatist agenda on Syrian territory
- Erdogan also announced a 150-hour deadline beginning on Wednesday for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and their weapons to be moved back 30 kilometers from the Turkish border
Pakistani companies likely to raise over $89 million in new stock listings this year
- Farrukh H. Sabzwari says approvals for two listings already granted while 10 more Initial Public Offerings are expected over next 12 months
- Economists expect KSE-100 index to reach 208,000 points by Dec., reflecting pent-up demand, strategic expansions and broader investor appetite
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) expects at least a dozen new listings this year, the PSX chief executive officer said on Monday, with the new entrants likely to raise as much as Rs25 billion ($89.3 million) in funding through the equity market.
Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index has rallied to new highs and recorded returns of around 50 percent in Calendar Year (CY) 2025. The market closed at 182,384 points on Monday.
Around 135,000 new investors have also joined the PSX over the last 18 months, according to Pakistani state media.
“Continuing with the momentum, in CY2026, approvals for two Main Board listings have been granted,” PSX CEO Farrukh H. Sabzwari, who has previously served as a local partner of BoA Merrill Lynch and country head of CLSA Emerging Markets in Pakistan, told Arab News.
“PSX is expecting 10 more IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) over next 12 months across various sectors.”
Pakistan’s growing stocks mirror the country’s stabilizing economy which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government expects would expand 3.9 percent this fiscal year through June with the help of the International Monetary Fund’s reforms-oriented $7 billion loan program.
The new IPOs would cover food, pharmaceutical, real estate investment trust (REIT), engineering, technology, oil and gas marketing, insurance, auto parts, manufacturing and energy sectors of the economy, according to Sabzwari.
Last year, the PSX listed Zarea Limited, Barkat Frisian Agro Limited, Image REIT, Pak Qatar Family Takaful, Blue-Ex Limited, Nets International Communication Limited and the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited. These listings helped companies raise Rs4.3 billion ($15.4 million) of funding.
In addition, the PSX debt market witnessed seven issuances, valuing Rs10.5 billion ($37.5 million). Pakistan’s finance ministry raises funds through PSX by selling borrowing instruments like Islamic sukuk.
The PSX recorded the highest eight IPOs in a single year in 2021, according to Shankar Talreja, head of research at Topline Securities Ltd. It would be a record if the market lists 12 new entrants this year.
Sana Tawfiq, an economist at Karachi-based brokerage research firm AHL, described the market performance last year as “exceptional.”
“With projected fundraising of up to Rs25 billion ($89.3 million), the upcoming pipeline reflects pent-up demand, strategic expansions, and a broader investor appetite,” she said.
Tawfiq expects the KSE-100 index to reach 208,000 points by Dec. this year.
“As we look toward 2026, Pakistan’s equity market is entering a phase defined by stability, depth, and sustainable growth,” the economist said.
“The market is now transitioning toward a more measured trajectory.”
Key drivers in 2026 would likely include sustained domestic liquidity in equities, strengthening foreign reserves and a contained current account deficit, successful completion of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization alongside accelerating progress on privatization and restructuring of power distribution companies (DISCOs), continued efforts to resolve circular debt in both power and gas sectors, and supportive global commodity prices, according to Tawfiq.
In a recent note to its clients, Topline Securities said the current IPO momentum was driven by macroeconomic stability under the IMF program, improving investor confidence and a declining interest rate environment.
Pakistan’s central bank last month cut its interest rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent in a surprising move aimed at boosting economic growth in the inflation-hit country.
“Despite ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, investor sentiment continues to improve,” it said.
