KARACHI, Aug 4: The number of share owners in Pakistan has increased from 70,000 to 470,000 in the last two years because of the government policy to pass on benefits of the privatization to common citizens.

This was stated by Privatization and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh at the open balloting of shares of Pakistan Petroleum Limited here on Wednesday.

"This is a silent revolution in the country's stock market. Now ownership of shares is no more confined to rich class. The common people can also own shares of leading companies," the minister observed.

Dr Shaikh said the government wanted to share the benefits of economic revival with the common people and was successful to bring forth the middle class to the stock market.

Referring to the record number of applicants for the PPL subscription, he said it was the effort of team work. "The current subscription has surpassed all our estimates and has broken all previous records. But we are happy that a large number of people took part in the balloting," the minister said.

Later, the minister, the managing directors of KSE and PPL and three applicants fed six digits in the computer to start the balloting. Talking to newsman, the minister said the list of successful applicants would be available at banks in a couple of days, while the money to unlucky applicants would be refunded in the next ten days.

Dr Hafeez said that 205,750 out of 757,633 applicants would get 500 shares of PPL through the balloting. -APP