May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

COLOMBO, May 7: Sri Lanka on Wednesday approved the first Pakistani brokerage and only foreign securities dealer to trade on the Colombo Stock Exchange, the securities watchdog said.

SKM Lanka Holdings, a unit of Pakistan’s Arif Habib Securities, was granted a licence to trade in equities and debt, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka said.

Foreign brokers had previously traded on the stock market through joint ventures with local firms, but the last pulled out in early 2000. Several foreign banks deal in the secondary debt market.

Arif Habib Securities, a unit of the Arif Habib Group, is listed on the Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges. It also has operations in banking and fund management.

The Pakistani broker is entering Sri Lanka as part of a regional expansion plan, Arif Habib’s chairman, Khalil Masood said.—AFP