ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s stock exchange this week bagged the ‘Best Islamic Stock Exchange’ award presented by the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) for a third consecutive year, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report on Tuesday, highlighting the bourse’s achievements during the current year.
Founded in 2011, GIFA celebrates the achievements of individuals, institutions and governments in promoting and advocating Islamic banking and finance through the annual awards. According to its website, GIFA acknowledges excellence and best practices in Islamic finance under various categories from industry players to service providers. GIFA previously awarded the Best Islamic Stock Exchange award in 2021 and 2022 to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
“Pakistan Stock Exchange is very proud to have been presented the Global Islamic Finance Award for the third consecutive year by Global Islamic Finance Awards,” PSX’s Managing Director and CEO Farrukh H Khan was quoted as saying by the APP. “We are honored by GIFA for recognizing us for our commitment to providing excellence in Islamic finance products, offerings and regulatory enhancements.”
He said the PSX is a “robust and strong platform” for Shariah compliant products and capital raising.
“With an aggregate of 251 Shariah compliant companies listed on PSX capturing more than 65 percent of the total market cap, PSX provides an excellent platform for investors to channelize their funds into Islamic financial offerings and for financial institutions to create and bring new products,” he said.
On August 3, Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index crossed the psychological barrier of 49,000 points for the first time in six years, as a last-gasp deal secured with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) helped fuel investors’ confidence in the South Asian country.
The development takes place as the South Asian country reels from an economic crisis that has fueled inflation in the country and weakened its national currency against the US dollar. Pakistan has taken the painful measures of hiking fuel and energy prices as it seeks to implement the tough conditions of the IMF’s bailout program.
