Chinese-led consortium eye 40% stake in Pakistan Stock Exchange

Moneycontrol BureauThree Chinese exchanges have come forward to buy 40 percent stake in Pakistan Stock Exchange, reports Reuters. This consortium of bourses will be offering Rs 28 (USD 0.27) per share to buy the aforementioned stake, Reuters reports, quoting a statement and the bourse's top official.

"All I can say ... is the Chinese consortium is the top bidder," Managing Director Nadeem Naqvi told Reuters on Thursday ahead of an official announcement of the bids.

The three bourses include China Financial Futures Exchange Company, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzen Stock Exchange. Others in the fray include two Pakistani financial institutions, the Pak-China Investment Company and Habib Bank.

Naqvi said 40 percent of the Karachi-based stock exchange represents 320 million shares. That would make the potential deal worth PKR 8.96 billion (USD 85 million).

Without revealing the number of formal bids being made, Naqvi mentioned that about 17 parties have so far submitted expressions of interest.