PSoA STUDENT WINS AWARDS FOR EXCELLENT EXAM RESULT

In the November 2006 examination session conducted by the Actuarial Society of India, Syed Raza Haider scored the highest marks in Course ST2 (Life Insurance). He was awarded Max New York Life Academic Excellence Award and Late Sri Janardan Pundalik Nehrulkar Memorial Prize in a ceremony held in Mumbai on February 12, 2007. The ceremony was a part of 9th Global Conference of Actuaries.

This was the first time that any examination of Actuarial Society of India was held in Pakistan and bagging these awards on the first attempt by a Pakistani candidate is extremely laudable. This speaks very well of the talent and quality of actuarial resource that we have available in the country.

The award was presented to him by Mr. John Poole who is the Chief Actuary of Max New York Life Insurance Company and the examiner of exam ST2. Raza’s achievement has been recognized and appreciated by Mr. Poole who describes it as “one of the best papers that I have seen for years!”

Raza has just left Nauman Associates where he has served as the Vice President and Head of Insurance and Takaful Business. He will shortly be joining SABB Takaful (a part of HSBC Group) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the Actuarial Manager.

We would like to congratulate him for this achievement and wish him all the best for the new job!

IDB TO FLOAT ISLAMIC BONDS

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will sell Islamic bonds to fund its projects in Malaysia, a newspaper reported, quoting a bank official and bankers familiar with the plan.

The planned debt could be the first ringgit currency Islamic bond to be issued by the IDB, Ahmed S. Hariri, IDB Kuala Lumpur office director, told Business Times.

"It's still in the making," Hariri was quoted as saying. "There is no definite date (for the launch)."

Bankers familiar with the plan said IDB could raise about 500 million ringgit ($142.3 million) from the bond sale this year, the report said.

The Islamic Development Bank, based in Jeddah, was established as a multilateral development bank by the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 1975.

It is charged with providing finance and technical assistance to member countries and Muslim communities around the world based on the principles of Islamic law. Malaysia has the world's largest Islamic bond market and wants to establish itself as a global hub for Islamic finance

FOREIGNERS HOLD 20% OF FREE FLOAT ON KSE

Foreign investment in the country’s capital market is generally dismissed as of little consequence and an ex-chairman of the Karachi Stock Exchange commented a little while ago that the market would be better off without it.

Such disillusionment stems from the mood swings of a foreign portfolio manager: “The outflow of funds is as quick as its inflow,” says a market guru. But the influence of the off-shore equity investment in the local bourses is growing. Admitting that the foreign funds hold just about 4 per cent of total market capitalization and the share of overseas funds in average daily volume is just about 3.5 per cent, analysts at the JS Capital Market have calculated that approximately 17 per cent of the share represents foreign investment in the float adjusted capitalization.

“Following the issue of MCB and OGDC GDRs in the world markets, the foreigners’ share in free float could now have risen to 20 per cent”, says Mohammad Sohail, director Research and Equity broking at JS Capital Markets.

Pakistan market free float is just about 23.8 per cent, since the government owns almost one -half of the market.

Most multinationals and company sponsors also hold biggest chunk of shares in large frozen blocks.

The share of foreign trading is 12 per cent in the actual delivery taken by investors on a daily basis. That is due to a 30 per cent delivery-based trading at the KSE last year, out of average daily volume, valuing USD524 million.

With record portfolio investment at local bourses witnessed in 2006, besides their rising share in average daily turnover Sohail and his team of analysts at JS Capital Markets identify the quantum of foreign funds to be the most important stock market driver in 2007.

The momentum of offshore funds inflow into Pakistan’s under-valued market is expected to gather further momentum in 2007. But there are the caveats: Global interest rates; Pakistan’s relationship with the outside world; country’s economic conditions and ratings; corporate profits and the year of general elections.

– Source: Dawn