There is a need for investigation on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The stock market has been topsy-turvy for the past year. Many investors became rich while others suffered catastrophes and lost their entire wealth. This is not usual at the stock market but the reports at the end of the fiscal year have left investors spellbound and will leave you scratching your heads.
The news is that the shares of many companies have seen extraordinary fluctuations which I will briefly present to you. In the stock market, the price of a share went from one rupee up to Rs15. An example is the now redundant Telecard company whose shares s staggering growth of 1,118%, while another is TRG which was trading Rs28 per share which went up to Rs168 within a year.
The share of Service Fabrics Ltd increased from Rs3.8 to Rs29.67, an increase of 863%. TPL Properties had a share price of Rs5.20 which shot up to Rs31.3, an increase of 497%. AKD’s share was Rs86.10 which rose to Rs655, an increase of 660%. WTL was Rs0.86 per share which went up to Rs4.52, an increase of 425.58%. Netsol’s share price increased Rs49.99 per share which surged to Rs304, an increase of 509%. On the other hand, OGDCL’s share price was Rs86.25 which went up to Rs119.80, which is only an increase of 38.90%. MCB’s share was Rs150 and increased 34% to reach Rs202. The share price of Nishat Mills was Rs77.56 which reached Rs124.89, an increase of 61.15%.
This staggering growth is shocking and alarming as it is completely contrary to ground realities. It seems like there are some hidden hands that are fluctuating the prices of these shares at will.
The shares of the earlier mentioned companies have risen sharply, while the latter ones lagged far behind even though they are some of the best in the world and have excellent share portfolios. In fact, these companies pay dividends and bonuses every year but their shares are not accumulated in the hands of a few investors which makes their growth rate justified.
There is no investigation of how the prices of shares can increase from 200 to 1,500%, neither do such companies pay dividends or bonuses. Yet, during the past year, the share prices of these companies have been increasing consistently in the stock market. A small investor who invests in the stock market hoping that an increase in share prices will make him rich faces an unexpected situation. They think that companies like AKD Capital, whose share prices increased from Rs86.10 to Rs655, are high-performing shares but the situation is different and they ended losing everything.
This is the main reason why there has never been an increase in investors on the stock exchange as those who invest smaller amounts are always the biggest losers. These people have to lose their entire savings and have no option but to contemplate suicide. But those whose company’s share value increases by 1,500% become billionaires overnight.
We have a lot of departments that need to do their jobs and probe how the value of a company can increase by 1,500%. The prime minister should hold those accountable who have been looting the stock market for decades with impunity. These have set up private limited companies in the name of their children and their wealth lies accumulated in the hands of their families. If we do not change the system then the stock market will always be controlled by the same investors and new investors will be kept away. We always blame our politicians but there are crooks in the stock market who are living a dignified life by their corrupt practices. All of this must be thoroughly investigated.
