Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange announced ‘Top 25 Companies for the year 2016’ on Thursday, based on the highest marks obtained in accordance with the criteria for selection of Top companies.

Acting MD PSX, Haroon Askari, said that the criteria included dividend payout, capital efficiency, profitability, free-float of shares, transparency, corporate governance, investor relation and compliance with Listing of Companies and Securities Regulations.

The Top 25 companies in order of their scores include: Fauji Fertiliser Company, Bank Al-Habib, Crescent Steel and Allied Products, Archroma Pakistan, Atlas Honda, Security Papers, Arif Habib Ltd, United Bank Limited, Nestle Pakistan, Pakistan International Container Terminal, Colgate-Palmolive, JDW Sugar Mills, Habib Metropolitan Bank, Cherat Packaging, Indus Motor Company, Ferozsons Labs, Shifa International Hospitals, Allied Bank Limited, MCB Bank Limited, Kohinoor Textile Mills, Atlas Battery, Rafhan Maize Products, Meezan Bank, Habib Bank Limited and Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited.

The PSX did not mention the date of distribution of the awards, but a stock market official said that the Top 25 companies’ ceremony, which happens to be a yearly affair, may be held sometime in the coming two months, where awards would be distributed by the Prime Minister.

Free-float requirement: The listed companies’ compliance with respect to the Minimum Free Float requirement has been extended for three months to April 2, 2018. The companies were required to comply with the provisions in Clause 5.4.1(b) of the PSX Regulations by Jan 03, 2018.

The regulation stipulates, that listed companies having existing free-float less than 25pc of the total issued number of shares and 5m free-float shares, or, not less than 25pc of the total issued number of shares but less than 5m free-float shares, shall enhance their free-float up to those levels.

A stock market official stated that the SECP had extended the time limit on PSX’s request to which representations had been made by several companies who had yet to come up to the requirement.

The government-owned companies and multinational firms have been excluded from the observance of the regulation.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2017