Khan’s victory set to revive ‘bullishness’ in markets
PM CAN PUSH HIS REFORMS AGENDA AFTER SECURING ANOTHER WIN THIS WEEK
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s victory in a confidence vote in Parliament, gave a boost to his fragile government and may help lure investors to its equity markets.
Khan got 178 votes from members of his Tehreek-e-Insaf party and allies in the 342-seat lower house National Assembly, proving majority, Speaker Asad Qaiser said in televised meeting in Islamabad yesterday.
His win may temporarily bring stability to the South Asian nation as its economy recovers from the pandemicinduced contraction with the help of the International Monetary Fund’s $6 billion loan program. With US President Joe Biden urging allies to uphold democracy, stability in Pakistan is an advantage in the region, which is already reeling from a coup in Myanmar.
“For the next six months I see a clear road of bullishness,” said Ayub Khuhro, chief investment officer at Faysal Asset Management Ltd. The fund manager will be buying stocks, he said.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index erased earlier gains to close down 2.1 per cent yesterday, paring its advance to 65 per cent since March 25 when countries went into lockdown because of coronavirus
The former cricket star voluntarily sought the confidence vote after his finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh unexpectedly lost an election for a Senate seat to an opposition-backed
candidate on Wednesday, triggering a debate Khan had lost the majority support.
“Political uncertainty has decreased because of this,” said Amjad Waheed, chief executive officer at NBP Fund Management Ltd., the nation’s largest fund manager with 170 billion rupees ($1 billion) in assets.
Khan indeed faces another test this week. The nation’s upper house will elect a chairman
on March 12 in a secret ballot. Should Khan’s candidate win that vote, it will make it easier for the premier to get laws enacted, said Faysal Asset’s Khuhro.
Meanwhile, the Senate result has been a boost for the opposition alliance that plans to march on Islamabad on March 26 to topple Khan’s government, two years before he finishes a five-year term.