KARACHI: For the first time in the 73 years history of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), a woman chairperson has been elected to the board of directors.
In the first meeting of the newly elected PSX board held on Wednesday, Dr Shamshad Akhtar was unanimously elected as the PSX board chairperson. Dr Akhtar needs no introduction as she is a veteran of the financial markets of Pakistan and has also held the position of the State Bank of Pakistan governor in the past.
She spearheaded the capital market development reforms during her tenure at the Asian Development Bank in 1990s and more recently worked with the industry on the Capital Market Roadmap in her capacity as the caretaker finance minister.
On being elected as the chairperson of the board of Pakistan Stock Exchange, Dr Akhtar commented, “After my long association with Pakistan’s capital market, it is a proud moment for me to represent the Pakistan Stock Exchange as its chairperson and join the efforts of the SECP, the new board and management to take this institution to new heights. I look forward to our joint endeavours to further transform PSX as a premier institution so it can play a critical role in raising its market capitalisation through deepening of debt and equity markets, broadening its investor and product base and service efficiently all its clients upholding high standards of governance”.
Upon completion of the term of the previous board, as part of the regulatory exercise earlier, seven shareholder directors were elected at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) convened on April 19, 2021, upon the expiry of the term of the previous board of directors. The Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) cleared the elected shareholder directors in terms of applicable requirements: Wang Baojun; Ahmed Chinoy; FU Hao; You Hang; Yu Huali; Nadeem Naqvi; and Zubair Razzak Palwala.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange had announced the appointment of three independent directors on its board, subsequent to the approval by the SECP on April 29. The names of the independent directors are Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Javed Kureishi, and Mohammad Salahuddin Manzoor.
The current size of the board of directors, as fixed by the previous board at its meeting held in February 2021 pursuant to SECP’s pertinent directive, comprises a total of 11 members, including seven shareholder directors, three independent directors, and the CEO.
