KARACHI, Oct 11: The CFS rates on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week soared to a record high of 90 per cent owing to pressure on liquidity and higher risk perceptions, analyst Romessa Mirza said.

The virtual crash of the world financial and capital markets though did not have direct impact on the local markets, having not much foreign exposure, but risk factors were there, boosted the rates to a new high after several years, some others said.

“Borrowing at a record higher level may lead to another repayment crisis, which could leave in its wake a long list of casualties,” they said.

They said CFS MK-2 investment also posted an increase of 20.2 per cent at or Rs3.3 billion to Rs12.9 billion as a section of investors made emergency buying to cover positions despite higher financial risks.

The top five borrowers were led by J.S. & Company, followed by OGDC, National Bank, Arif Habib Securities and Pakistan Oilfields.

The open interest on the futures contract also showed a modest increase of 1.21 per cent at Rs309 million but on the other hand future spreads showed a massive fall of 23.26 per cent as prices did not fall on the futures counter, they added.