KARACHI STOCK MARKET NEWS

Finally there was some semblance of a correction on Friday as the KSE-100 index dove down to touch 13,303, but the 13,300 support level held and the market made a strong recovery back to close down at 13,438 . It’s possible that it could test the 13,300 support again before going up. There was a relatively low volume of 193.6 million shares traded. The week ahead : HPFL bidding, PSO pre- bidding and UBL GDR listing.

News : Eni successfully continues its drilling campaign and announces new gas discoveries in Pakistan. Eni’s latest success relates to the Tajjal 1 exploration well, which reached new gas within the Gambat Exploration Licence, in the Sindh Province. The Gambat Licence is managed by a Joint Venture composed of Eni (30%), OMV (35% Operator), PPL (30%) and GHPL (5%)….Eni has also recently drilled the Kadanwari 18 well, finding a gas-bearing formation at a depth of approximately 3,400 m…Eni (18.42%) is Operator of the Kadanwari Production lease (with Premier Kufpec Pakistan 31.58% and OGDCL 50% as partners)…. Eni S.p.A., through its subsidiaries in Pakistan, is the largest foreign gas producer in Pakistan, with a net share of approximately 55,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Eni has been present in Pakistan since 2000 and has since substantially expanded its presence. Eni now has an interest in 7 producing fields, all with growth potential, and in 12 onshore exploration blocks, 5 of which are operated. Recognising the high potential of this area, Eni has recently acquired 3 offshore exploration blocks in the Indus Delta. In order to strengthen and expand on its existing activities, Eni has planned to invest 170 million US dollars in Pakistan during the next 3 years, mainly on development activities and 110 million dollars for new exploration… Source : Eni Press Room

BMA Capital, has been appointed financial advisor to the Privatisation Commission (PC) for the strategic sale of shares of the SME Bank Limited. Following the successful $811 million GDR issue and second domestic offering of OGDCL, the privatisation of SME Bank is another landmark transaction that BMA Capital has been awarded..To date, BMA Capital has advised over 50 percent of all privatisation transactions, either on the buy or sell side, amounting in value to over $4 billion…Aaj News

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Salman Shah has said capitalisation of the Karachi stock market has reached the level of $70 billion, about 50 percent of country’s GDP of $145 billion."We are working to get it equal to country’s GDP size,"…He said that big companies should list themselves on the stock exchanges to raise equity instead of depending on banks for loans… Daily Times

Upper Cap : Packages
Lower Cap : JOVC

Market Close : 13,438.47 – 23.99 points down