KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday described the first primary market auction of the country’s one-year Ijarah Sukuk as a “resounding success” that attracted over Rs481 billion ($1.7 billion) of bids, calling it a useful addition to the product suite offered by the equity market which would further expand and solidify the investor base.
Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate that represents ownership in a tangible asset or a pool of assets. It is similar to a bond but is structured in a way that complies with Islamic law, which prohibits interest-based transactions.
Last week, the government tapped into the Islamic bond market for retail investors by auctioning off Rs30 billion ($105.8 million) of Ijarah Sukuk at PSX in what was widely viewed as a groundbreaking development to strengthen the national economy.
The ceremony was also attended Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar.
“The auction which took place on December 8, 2023, via the Exchange, heralds a new beginning for raising the GDS [Government Debt Security],” the PSX said in a statement. “Against the target of the Rs30 billion Sukuk, bids accepted amounted to Rs36.068 billion whereas the total bids received amounted to Rs481.307 billion.”
It said that as many as 172 investors participated in the bidding process in which 132 succeeded.
“We are truly proud of this remarkable achievement which was on the back burner for a long time,” the PSX statement quoted the finance minister as saying. “We have now succeeded in implementing the Government Debt Securities issue through the Stock Exchange with the first primary market auction of this GoP Ijarah Sukuk held on December 8, 2023. This will substantially benefit the [government] by diversifying the investor base, as well as providing new investment opportunities to investors.”
Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Akif Saeed also maintained government securities constituted an important tool for the development of the capital market, adding the launch of GDS at PSX was just the beginning.
He urged the equity market, brokers, insurance companies, and asset managers to concentrate their efforts on marketing in order to attract new investors to the capital market.
PSX managing director Farrukh H. Khan said the primary market auction had generated interest from a large number of investors.
“This defines a watershed moment for the capital markets and indeed for Pakistan’s economy,” he added while expressing his gratitude to the government and the SECP.
PSX says first Islamic bond auction exceeded expectations, attracting over $1.7 billion of bids
https://arab.news/zx43q
PSX says first Islamic bond auction exceeded expectations, attracting over $1.7 billion of bids
- The auction was held at the equity market last week and was attended by the interim PM of the country
- It was viewed as a groundbreaking development that could strengthen the national economy of Pakistan
Three security personnel, five militants killed in separate incidents in Pakistan’s northwest
- An army major and five militants were killed in an operation in Bajaur, while gunmen shot dead two cops in Lakki Marwat and Tank
- Pakistan has blamed the surge in militancy in its northwest on Afghanistan and India-backed militants, Kabul and New Delhi deny this
PESHAWAR: Three security personnel, including an army major, and five militants were killed in separate incidents in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, police and military said on Monday, amid a surge in militancy in the province bordering Afghanistan.
Security forces conducted an operation in KP’s Bajaur district on reported presence of Pakistani Taliban militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Five “Indian-sponsored” militants were killed during the operation, while it also resulted in the killing of Major Adeel Zaman who was leading his troops from the front.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed khwarij [militants], who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored kharja [militant] found in the area.”
Separately, gunmen abducted Sajjad Hussain, a police constable who was traveling home on leave, in KP’s Tank district and later shot him dead, according to district police spokesman Younus Khan.
“The martyred constable, Sajjad Hussain, was posted at the Nasran checkpoint,” Khan told Arab News. “He was intercepted, forced off his vehicle, and shot on Shah Alam–Nasran Road by militants.”
Another policeman, Assistant Sub-Inspector Mumtaz Ali, was shot dead by gunmen in Pezu area of the nearby Lakki Marwat district.
“The officer, who was posted in Tank, was on his way to his duty station when assailants intercepted his vehicle, forced him out, and opened fire, killing him on the spot,” Khan added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the police killings, which came a day after police killed eight militants in KP’s Karak district.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP in recent years. Militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing its soil and India of backing militant groups, including the TTP, for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
