KARACHI, Jan 8: Moin M. Fudda, Managing Director of the Karachi Stock Exchange, said on Saturday that in 2002 when the Pakistan's stock exchanges were extremely starved of new listings , Governor State Bank Dr Ishrat Husain had played a pivotal role in the listing of as many as 19 Term Finance Certificates (TFCs), which marked a turning point in the history of the country's capital market.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the bourse quoted the KSE MD as commenting on the recognition of Dr Ishrat Husain by "The Banker" Magazine of London, a subsidiary of the Financial Times, as the Governor of the year for Asia. "On behalf of the newly elected Chairman of the Board Yasin Lakhani and the Board of Directors of KSE, I wish to congratulate Dr Ishrat for bringing home such an honour which makes us all proud", said Mr Fudda. He noted that the fact that it was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that such a prestigious award had been conferred on any Governor of State Bank of Pakistan, was a sign that the world was watching Pakistan's economic and financial miracle with great deal of interest.

Mr Fudda said that the KSE had benefited tremendously during the current era of the SBP governor, who has initiated and diligently followed an enlightened monetary policy and also inculcated corporate governance in the banking sector.

He pointed out that given the fact that until a few years ago, the country's financial sector presented an image of total chaos, the FT has rightly cited that under the leadership of Dr Ishrat, "the SBP has progressively improved its capacity to manage and maintain macroeconomic stability", and that "Pakistan has transformed its largely state owned and weak banking sector and Pakistan's financial sector is now more competitive and relatively efficient".

He said that the conclusion drawn by the FT that: "The financial infrastructure has strengthened and the regulatory and supervisory functions of SBP have improved", was a fact beyond debate. "We at the KSE offer our heartiest congratulations to Dr Ishrat Husain on having been conferred the award that is his rightful due and which effectively distinguishes him as the best among Central Bank Governors in all of Asia", concluded Mr Fudda.