November 21, 2001	Wednesday	Ramazan 5, 1422

LAHORE, Nov 20: The members of Lahore Stock Exchange would stamp their approval on the proposed amendments in their Articles of Association here on Saturday, increasing the percentage of the outside directors on the LSE board to 50 per cent from the present 40 per cent.

They would also allow to increase the present one-year term of the elected directors to three years to “ensure continuity of the policies”.

LSE spokesman Samir Ahmed told Dawn on Tuesday that the board of directors had already approved the amendments in its previous meeting.

Under the bourses rules and regulations, the amendments in the Articles of Association has to put before the house for approval.

Ahmed said the LSE proposed to have a 19-member board from the next year.

If amendments are approved by the members, the LSE will be the first of the country’s bourses to have an equal number of elected and outside directors —- nine each — on its board. Its managing director will be the ex-officio member of the board.

“The number of the outside directors on the LSE board is being increased to safeguard the interests of investors,” Ahmed said.

He said three of the nine elected directors would retire every year. Nevertheless, the outside directors would be inducted for a term of one year each, although there would be no bar on their re- induction to the board for a second or any number of terms.