Pakistan Stock Exchange was founded in 1947 as Karachi Stock Exchange, In January 2016, Karachi Stock Exchange was renamed as Pakistan Stock Exchange after the merger of the Lahore Stock Exchange and Islamabad Stock Exchange.[7]
Investors on the exchanges include 1,886 foreign institutional investors and 883 domestic institutional investors along with about 220,000 retail investors. There are also about 400 brokerage houses which are members of the PSX as well as 21 asset management companies.[8][9]
History
1947–2016: Karachi Stock Exchange
Founded on 18 September 1947, Karachi Stock Exchange Limited (KSE) was registered in Pakistan. It was located at the Stock Exchange Building (SEB) on Stock Exchange Road, in the heart of Karachi's business district off I. I. Chundrigar Road (then known as McLeod Rd).[10] Since its establishment, the number of members at the KSE had been capped at 200, with each member possessing a trading card.[11] The value of these cards had experienced volatility, rising from slightly more than one million rupees before 1990 to approximately 40 million rupees in the mid-1990s, before settling at around 27.5 million rupees in 2002.[11]
From its founding up until May 27, 1998, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) trading hall was characterized by the vocal trading cries of "La-oo" from buyers and "Lay" from sellers, a method known as open outcry.[11] The advent of foreign investors in the early 1990s catalyzed a push for modernization, supported by a $125 million loan from the Asian Development Bank for capital market reforms.[11] This led to the replacement of the traditional open outcry system with the automated Karachi Automated Trading System (KATS).[11]
2016–present: Pakistan Stock Exchange
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came into existence in January 2016 when the Government of Pakistan decided to merge the three large exchange markets of the country (based in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad) into one combined market.[12] The PSX was launched on 11 January 2016. Prior to the formal launch, the Karachi Stock Exchange held a two-day pre-production mock trading session for all certificate holders of the three exchanges. The integration is expected to help reduce market fragmentation and create a strong case for attracting strategic partnerships necessary for providing technological expertise and assistance. The integration of the three exchanges has completed the second phase of the Stock Exchanges Demutualization and Integration Act 2012, passed by a joint session of the Parliament.[13]
The Shanghai Stock Exchange became a major shareholder with a 40% stake in the PSX.[14]: 154–155 PSX is integrated with China's stock market through the China Connect Interface, allowing Chinese investors to more easily enter Pakistan's stock markets.[14]: 155
Historic high trading volumes staggering at 2.20 billion shares were recorded on 27 May 2021. It broke the previous record all-time high volume of 1.56 billion shares, recorded on 26 May 2021.[15]