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Ambassador Of Netherlands Visits The Lahore Stock Exchange

Date 30/08/2013

The Ambassador of Netherlands to Pakistan, Mr. Marcel de Vink visited the Lahore Stock Exchange and met with the management & brokers of the Exchange and discussed various matter of mutual interest.

Mr. Aftab Ahmed Ch. presenting a memento to the Ambassador of Netherlands, Mr. Marcel de Vink on his visit to the Lahore Stock Exchange

Mr. Aftab Ahmad Chaudhary along with his staff shared the structure and performance of the Capital Market of Pakistan. Mr. Aftab highlighted various initiatives to be taken by the Exchange in future to promote business opportunities & investments in various sectors of Pakistan. He informed the visiting dignitary that there are many opportunities not only in term of large infrastructural level but also at small & medium scale still waiting to be tapped by entrepreneurs & companies and the Exchange is fully equipped to facilitate these investments. This would also offer a broader array of investment opportunities to foreign & local investors. He impressed upon the visitor to play proactive role in apprising the foreign investors about the conduciveness of making investment in Pakistan in the prevailing business environment. He further apprised him about the steps taken by the Exchange in recent times to enhance the confidence and trust of the investors in the functioning of the Exchange as a frontline regulator. Especially, the Exchange is committed to provide transparent and fair dispute resolution mechanism for adjudicating the disputes arising between the member/broker of the Exchange and investors.

Mr. Salman Ali Bokhari, Head of Corporate Finance, presented an overview of contours of the Pakistan’s economy and its growth performance in the past. He briefed the visitors on the current economic situation of the country and the fundamental structural issues impeding its growth. He also presented an analysis of the recent performance of the stock market and highlighted competitive advantages of the local markets such as diversification, lower valuation & higher dividend yields in addition to a conducive investing environment for foreigners. He commented that if these benefits are appropriately highlighted, Pakistan can become one of the most favored investing destinations amongst emerging markets for foreign investors.

The Ambassador expressed excitement at historic outstanding performance of Pakistan’s equity markets especially in the recent past. He said that the Netherlands is aware of the economic opportunities and possibilities being offered by Pakistan and is in fact very interested that the economic relationship between the two countries changed “from aid to trade” and promised his sincere efforts for showcasing Pakistan as a viable investment opportunity to his government and citizens.

Netherlands is one of the biggest economic powers in the world and is host of the world’s oldest stock exchange, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Services sector dominates Netherlands’ economy representing more than 70% of the total size. Industrial activity, including mining, generates about 20% of the national product and is dominated by the metalworking, oil refining, chemical, and food-processing industries.