December 31, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 09, 1427

KARACHI, Dec 30: Chairman Karachi Stock Exchange Zafar A. Khan said he would take up some of the issues that seemingly have a negative impact on the market at the appropriate forums.

The non-member chairman of KSE was speaking at a ceremony on Saturday held for balloting of allocation of shares of Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) to the general public.

A press release issued by AHL said that Mr Zafar mentioned issues to be discussed, which included rationalisation of the taxation regime—including extension of the capital gains tax beyond June 2007, the capital value tax (CVT) on the purchase of shares, review of the Capital Issue Rules and the case for incentive-based differentiation between publicly listed and private companies to attract quality new listings.

The press release noted that the offer for sale of 5 million shares, out of a total of 20 million shares, by AHL’s holding company, Arif Habib Securities Limited (AHSL) was made at Rs100 per share, including a premium of Rs90 per share. Against the Offer, the company said it had received subscriptions of Rs1.32 billion, representing an over-subscription by 2.64 times. Under the applicable law, only the applications for minimum subscription (500 shares) were included in the ballot.

The company stated that 9,500 minimum-size applications were received from 52 cities and towns, including such remote places as Kotli (AJK); Layyah; Bannu, etc.