KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange said that the board of directors had resolved to form a wholly-owned subsidiary of PSX for the proposed demerger of the bourse’s real estate from its operations.

This would replace the previous plan of creating a sister concern owned by PSX shareholders. In a notice at the Exchange the PSX stated: “Accordingly, immovable properties and related arrangement of PSX will be transferred into a wholly-owned subsidiary set up by the name of ‘PropCo’ against the issuance of shares of PropCo in favour of PSX through a Scheme of Arrangement under the relevant regulatory and legal provisions.”

The former director of PSX Shehzad Chamdia said that the bourse owns a vast amount of land which is proposed to be developed into a state-of-the-art real estate property which could also take the shape of an iconic Stock Exchange Tower. “The exchange has development, commercial and regulatory interest in the property,” he said.

Mr Chamdia stressed that since the core business of the PSX was not real estate, it was thought wiser to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary ‘PropCo’ and separate the primary business of stock trading from the management of real estate.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2021