KARACHI, Oct 27: A UK-based firm of stock brokers, Fyshe Horton Finney Limited (FHF), is in advanced talks with a local brokerage house, for collaboration and participation in exploring investment opportunities in Pakistan's equity market.

Dr Hardeep Singh Tamana, the company's CEO before flying back home, after a three-day visit, told Dawn on Wednesday that the basic purpose of FHF's investigation into the Pakistan's secondary markets was to facilitate and provide access to Non-resident Pakistanis (NRPs) in the UK.

He could not, however, figure out the sum of money which was out there in UK held by Pakistanis and waiting to be channelised back home in the Pakistan's capital markets. "We will have to wait a few months to measure such response," said Dr Hardeep. The participation agreement with the local firm, he thought, might be signed and sealed in the next three months.

The FHF CEO said that he had held talks with the regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the stock exchanges and that he was impressed by the regulatory reforms undertaken by the market.

Dr Hardeep agreed that there were issues such as excessive speculation as well as perception of proprietary brokerage trading. And he also admitted that following four years of a bull run, the stock valuations had also run high, but he was sure Pakistan's capital markets were still attractive on the basis of fundamentals. He reckoned that sectors such as telecom, IP, Energy and Oil exploration promised good value for money.

In a statement issued to the press earlier, Fyshe Horton (FHF) claimed to be "one of the oldest and most respected, independent firms of stockbrokers in the UK," with origins dating back to 1896. "As an entity that is regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority, it is keen to take advantage of improving framework of the Pakistani Markets," the statement to the press said, adding that Fyshe would look to provide a conduit for the dissemination of Broker Research and simpler access to those markets in the UK and elsewhere. Dr Hardeep was quoted as saying that he saw a number of opportunities in the Pakistani markets that were being missed by foreign investors "principally because of poor access and understanding of the Pakistani markets."