16 May 2004	Sunday	25 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI: The country's capital markets may not have any direct role to play in the social sector. But they have a relevance in a broader context of the issue.

"The major roles assigned to us are to ensure improvement in the corporate governance, to restore sanity to stock trading and to safeguard the financial interest of the small investors," say bourse chiefs.

Being the financial hub of Pakistan's financial transactions and meeting ground of investors, the bosses of the capital markets, the brokerage houses and equity traders have a role to play in the social sector if they opt for it to join the national effort.

They are the custodians of the market capital with capitalization of over $25 billion and regulators of the normal functioning of 687 listed companies besides the thousands of owners and shareholders behind them. Because of this, they should have a say as an adviser in the operational activities in the social sector.

"A good beginning has already been made globally to supplement the national effort and spread the benefit of investment to the common man in the social sector by corporate giants. There is need to start such programmes in Pakistan also by their local counterparts," say stock market analysts.

Already, some of the leading multinational companies and local business houses operating here are spending huge amounts on tackling environmental problems within or around their units, labour colonies and private educational facilities. They could be motivated to think at the national level and beyond their immediate surroundings.

"Capital markets could, start advisory services as they do in company affairs including quarterly and annual general meetings and advise their earning members to allot some funds for social sector development also," says a highup of the KSE.

The capital markets have the funds and the expertise to man their new sections if they choose to play a supplementary role in the national effort.

Most of the listed sugar mills in the countryside had already invested big amounts partly out of the agriculture cess and partly from the local funds to build up modern infrastructure facilities including link roads from the farm to their mills for the speedy and cheaper transportation of sugarcane.

The advisory services of the capital markets could, under a phased plan, draw broad outlines of the priority and potential areas needing immediate financial help from the corporate sector.