Karachi Stock Exchange

The Karachi Stock Exchange or KSE is a stock exchange located in Karachi, Sindh,Pakistan. Founded in 1947, it is Pakistan's largest and oldest stock exchange, with many Pakistani as well as overseas listings. Its current premises are situated on Stock Exchange Road, in the heart of Karachi's Business District.

History

Karachi Stock Exchange is the biggest and most liquid exchange in Pakistan. It was declared the “Best Performing Stock Market of the World for the year 2002”. As of May 30, 2008, 654 companies were listed with a market capitalization of Rs. 3,746.203 billion (US$ 56.334 billion) having listed capital of Rs. 705.873 billion (US$ 10.615 billion). The KSE 100TM Index closed at 12130.51 on May 30, 2008

Trading

The exchange has pre-market sessions from 09:15am to 09:30am and normal trading sessions from 09:30am to 03:30pm. It is the second oldest stock exchange in South Asia. The karachi stock exchange has undergone a considerable deal of downturn partly due to global financial crisis and partly on account of domestic troubles. It remained suspended in excess of 4 months and resumed normal trading only on December 15,2008. The KSE 100 Index and KSE 30 Index after hitting the low around mid january has now rebounced and recovered 20-25% till March 12th 2009.

Growth

The KSE is the biggest and most liquid exchange in Pakistan and in 2002 it was declared as the “Best Performing Stock Market of the World” by Business Week. As of December 20, 2007, 671 companies were listed with the market capitalization of Rs. 4364.312 billion (US$ 73 Billion) having listed capital of Rs. 717.3 billion (US$ 12 billion). On December 26, 2007, the KSE 100 Index reached its highest value ever and closed at 14,814.85 points.

Foreign buying interest had been very active on the KSE in 2006 and continued in 2007. According to estimates from the State Bank of Pakistan, foreign investment in capital markets total about US$523 Million. According to a research analyst in Pakistan, around 20pc of the total free float in KSE-30 Index is held by foreign participants.

KSE has seen some fluctuations since the start of 2008. One reason could be that it is the election year in Pakistan, and stocks are expected to remain dull. KSE has set an all time high of 15,000 points, before settling around the 14,000 mark.

Karachi stock exchange Board of Directors has recently (2007) announced plans to construct a 40 story high rise KSE building, as a new direction for future investment.

Disputes between investors and members of the Exchange are resolved through deliberations of the Arbitration Committee of the Exchange.

KSE began with a 50 shares index. As the market grew a representative index was needed. On November 1st, 91 the KSE-100 was introduced and remains to this day the most generally accepted measure of the Exchange. Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index (KSE-100 Index) is a benchmark used to compare prices overtime, companies with the highest market capitalization are selected. To ensure full market representation, the company with the highest market capitalization from each sector is also included.

In 1995 the need was felt for an all share index to reconfirm the KSE-100 and also to provide the basis of index trading in future. On August the 29th, 1995 the KSE all share index was constructed and introduced on September 18, 1995.

MAYOR OF KARACHI

CITY NAZIM - SYED MUSTAFA KAMAL
	"I see bright future for Karachi because all the problems would be solved, InshAllah. Instead of providing temporary solutions that lasts for short period of time, we are concentrating on permanent ones. New development activities are commencing in the city and we are going to build up Karachi of future". Syed Mustafa Kamal VISION "To develop Karachi as modern and developed city in the world and bring ease in the life of a common man."
MESSAGE
Karachi being one of the major ports of South Asia and main base on air route between Europe,South East Asia and Australia, has become a leading industrial, commercial and financial hub ofPakistan. With an increasing growth rate of 6-7 percent per annum as against the National population growth on 3% per annum Karachi is today a City of more than 15 million inhabitants. This coupled with rapid metropolitan growth and urbanization have intensified the civic services. The CDGK which came into being replacing the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation with a wider span of obligations due to the devolution of various departments from the Provincial Government to the City District Government and merger of various civic agencies like KDA, KW&SB, LDA, MDA etc. is determined to enforce good governance, effective delivery of services and transparent decision making through institutionalized participation of people at grass root level. Emphasis has been made in the annual policies and programes for the development and improvement of environmental conditions of the city for the betterment of general public. To achieve the targets of development and improvement set in various fields and to translate the policies into action, in order to provide maximum services to the people, exerted efforts are required. The role of Information Technology in the modern world has been explored as an important factor in harnessing the objectives. The present City District Government has firmed to computerize the activities and affairs of all its departments as early as possible. To begin with a Computerized Public Complaint Centre through toll free phone is being established where the complaints relating to CDGK lodged by the general public on telephone will immediately be passed on to the respective quarters and processed for prompt action. It will on the one hand save time and botheration of the complainant and on the other hand shall be routed expeditiously for redressal. Besides the facility shall also be available through the CDGK’s Web Site. I hope and pray the Almighty Allah to strengthen our hands to serve the public and to improve their quality of life. Amin. Syed Mustafa Kamal

KARACHI INSTITUTE

Apart from these categories, heritage in Saddar is very widespread because this location used to be the hub of the business activities in the city since its earlier years. Grand buildings like the Empress Market are located here, as are the St. Andrew's Church and the Karachi Grammar School. The St. Patrick's Cathedral and the St. Joseph's Convent are also located near the boundary of this area.

INSTITUTIONS IN SUDDER

KARACHI GRAMMAR SCHOOL (1847)

ST. JOSEPH'S CONVENT SCHOOL (1862)

Old Picture

Present

(A better quality picture of the St. Joseph's Convent School is required, please help the website

GOA-PORTUGUESE HALL (1905)

Since Napier's time, a sizeable Goan community had established itself in Karachi. In 1869, the Goan community set up a reading room and a library which later led to the formation of the Goa-Portuguese Association in 1886. The Goa-Portuguese Hall was built during the tenure of the Association's president, Cincinnatus Fabio D'Abreo (who is also known for initiating a Goan residential colony known as Cincinnatus Town - presently called Garden East). Construction on the hall was finished by 1905, and cost Rs. 48,000, raised through the Association's own resources. The hall was opened by R. P. Barrow, Collector of Karachi, and was considered a notable addition to the town and testament to the wealth and enterprise of the Goan community.

The Hall is considered one of the finest works of architect Moses Somake (who also designed the Flagstaff House). It is an impressive structure designed to serve as the focal point for the activities of the Goan community. The architecture uses themes from early eighteenth century English Renaissance country houses employing hipped roofs, dormers, and elaborate end pilasters. The projecting central entrance portion is capped by a pediment. Windows are semicircular whereas the dormer windows are circular in shape. The building was finished somewhat lavishly with Belgian tiles used on the ground floor and teak flooring in the first floor hall. The proportions of the interior spaces are coordinated to give a feeling of loftiness and space. The choice of European Classical architecture speaks of the aspirations of the Goan community to start identifying with the taste of the British, as was the case with Dayaram Jethmal, Parsi magnate Rusomji, and Muslim philanthropist Khaliq Dina.

BAI VIRBAIJI ANGLO VERNACULAR HIGH SCHOOL (1906)

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Present

MANORA BEACH

The 'turtle lady of Karachi

Turtles have existed since the days of the dinasaurs, or some 100 million years. Now this endangered species is under threat from pollution, trawler nets and beach development. Here, Zofeen T Ebrahim tells the remarkable story of one woman's effort in Karachi, Pakistan, to protect this age-old creature.

Farida Asrar Ghauri, 51, a Project Officer with the Marine Turtle Project is known to patrol the Karachi beaches at night, looking for green turtles. "I know I'm mad, staying awake half the night, walking on the beach. Who, in their right mind would do it, day after day, year after year..." says Ghauri, better known in Pakistan as the 'Turtle Lady of Karachi'.

Farida Asrar Ghauri measuring a green turtle during a night patrol at a Karachi beach © WFS

Ghauri has been extremely busy since September - the start of the green turtle nesting season. "I hardly get any sleep. I'm at the beach almost every night and in the day I'm at work filing the data, or giving lectures and making presentations in schools before we take the students to watch the egg-laying for the evening."

She continues, "to save them from predators, usually stray dogs, we take the eggs out soon after they've been laid and transplant them in holes in our specially built enclosures. When they hatch after 40-60 days we guide the young ones to the waters so that they don't get waylaid or killed."

Ghauri also spots turtles that are injured and need rehabilitation. "I am really short of staff, so my husband also pitches in," she says.

Endangered specie

This unassuming scientist can go on for hours explaining why this endangered yet resilient, 100 million-year-old species, which shared the earth with dinosaurs, needs to be protected. The green turtle is the second-largest species of the marine turtle family after the Leatherback turtle.

The turtles lay eggs every five years, and three times within the laying year. "Five hundred of our tagged turtles have come again to nest, which is a good sign; for, if the beaches were not favourable they would never come ashore. This year, three turtles tagged by us went to Africa, India and Iran."

"Things are a little better this year. We now have a lab, so we can work more effectively to understand the behaviour of turtles during captive breeding, study their migration patterns and document nesting frequency." Prior to the lab's formation, Ghauri's team dissected and treated the animals on the rocks, recording data sitting on the beach. "Believe me it was no picnic!" she exclaims.

The low priority given to the project is evident by the fact that Ghauri does not have an internet connection for her work; the data she collects is recorded in registers! "If I need to get in touch with international conservators and scientists, I go to a corner shop that has an e-mail service - not the most effective way, but I get by. Sometimes we don't have enough money for fuel so I use a rickshaw or hitch a ride on a motorbike. The work has to go on. The situation is grim, though, and half my time is wasted trying to make ends meet."

Protecting eggs

The Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) set up the Marine Turtle Project back in 1979. "The SWD did a survey to investigate the population of the green turtles and found that of the 11 beaches of the world where the turtles are known to nest, two - Hawkesbay and Sandspit - were found along Sindh's coastline. However, just a few hundred turtles came to lay eggs during the season. With the initial money from the World Wildlife Fund, three enclosures to protect the eggs and the hatchlings were built."

Green turtles have been granted a protected status under the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972. Under Pakistan's Fish Inspection and Quality Act 1997, these creatures cannot be exported and their domestic consumption is banned. Furthermore, Pakistan is a signatory to the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and acknowledges the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species, which has green turtles on its list.

According to Ghauri, there are eight endangered species of marine turtles, not seven as is commonly believed, of which the Olive Ridley is the most threatened. Only one or two Olive Ridleys can be spotted on the Karachi beaches during the nesting season.

Deadly nets

In 1980, armed with an MSc in Zoology and another in Marine Biology and oodles of energy, Ghauri landed up at the SWD "by sheer luck". "I had no idea then that turtles would be in my scheme of things," she says simply, adding, "they've taught me a way of life - discipline, patience and punctuality. They've motivated me to work hard." In 2003, she was awarded a PhD for her thesis on 'Bio-ecological studies of Green and Olive Ridley Turtles along Karachi's Beaches', making her the first Pakistani to have researched the subject.

While there is growing awareness about this harmless sea creature and a growing number of turtles are coming to the beach during the nesting period - from a few hundred in 1979 to over a thousand in 2004, Ghauri feels her work is not over yet. "If the trawlers would use the Turtle Extruder Device in their nest, it would enable them to catch more fish, and the turtles caught would not get wounded or handicapped for life. I've made surprise checks and, contrary to their claim, found the nets without the device, despite the mounting international pressure on our government for their mandatory use."

Ghauri acknowledges that in her almost 20-year-old fight, she has won some battles and lost a few. But the hurdles have not dampened her spirit. For, she says, "The turtles are the children I never had."

KARACHI HOTELS

Karachi has a wide range of hotels at an equally wide range of prices. Among them are several international class facilities. They are all modern and well equipped, but they are expensive as well. However, with special group rates, the following would be the hotels of choice during your stay in the city.

Karachi Marriott This is Karachi's premier business hotel, located across the street from historic Frere Hall. Tel: +92-21-111-22-33-44, +92-21-568-0111

Karachi Sheraton Hotels and Towers The Sheraton is located in the heart of Karachi . Tel: +92-21-568-1021

The Avari Towers This hotel is the tallest building in Karachi . Its 22nd floor suites give a spectacular view of the city. Tel: +92-21-566-0100

The Regent Plaza Formerly the Crowne Plaza , the hotel has been renamed and renovated; it is located in the city centre. Tel: +92-21-566-0611

The Pearl Continental Hotel This the oldest 5 star hotel in the country. Tel: +92-21-111-505-505

Carlton Hotel One of the most recent additions to the city's skyline. The Carlton is located by Gizri Creek and overlooks a marina and the sea beyond. Tel: +92-21-111-72-72-72, +92-21-584-9172

karachi beauties

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Your Valentine's Girl in Karachi

Your average Valentine's girl in Karachi is also the girl you know best. She is loving and caring and appreciates the gifts and presents, and all the flowers you give her on this day of love. But Miss Karachi is not just about gifts and flowers and mithai and cakes!



Your love must be above all material things for the girl in Karachi. When you are in love, every minute is like the Valentine's Day, when you're not, well it's not. Miss Karachi or any girl anywhere in the world for that matter, will love you for what you are and not how many red roses you have given her. You can play with her, with her mind and soul and she will let you play with her heart.




But always know that loving is caring, and giving is just a part of it. Valentine's day is not about some religion's day or a particular faith's day to be observed by a particular people. If the concept is pure and the intention is love and selfless giving, any day by any other name is Valentine's Day.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Don't play games with Miss Karachi

Miss Karachi is in a good mood today. She likes to hang out with her friends and enjoys their friendship as long as the friends don't take undue advantage of her friendliness. She will play with you and let you have a great time. She likes to shoot pool and will chat on the phone for you for hours, but don't let this fool you.



Karachi is a open-minded city with open-minded friendly girls. This leaves many to search frantically on the internet numbers of girls to hang out with. This is a mistake. Enjoy your time with friends and make them proud of your companionship and relationship.

Miss Karachi is a cool girl. She's hot and she likes to be take care of sweetly. If you still don't get it, just enjoy the pictures and try to get the message.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Miss Karachi

Well, you've found it finally. Not really. To those searching for Miss Karachi, Pakistan, or Miss Pakistan or some such stuff, keep looking! Let's see what MissKarachi.com results we have:


Karachi girls
Karachi girls are amazing. They're fun, out going and have a great sense of humour. They like to educate themselves with the best that is available. Girls in Karachi are a fun group of people to hang around with.



Wellness
Wellness is one of the most important health traits one can have. If a person is wealthy or famous, but does not have wellness, nothing is worth it. Karachi girls are particularly conscious about their wellness.

Sports
Girls in Karachi are sport fanatics. If not outdoors, they love to play games indoors, like badminton, table tennis, and even physically challenging sports like football and cricket. Not girly sports all the time! They love to watch cricket and can be great cricket fans.

Shopping
Like all other girls in the world, girls of Karachi are shopping fanatics. They love shoes most of all, but also take shopping as a very interesting social experience. They usually hangout with their friends in malls and shopping areas, and can be found enjoying themselves over chaat or soft drinks.



Music
If any particular group of Pakistani or Karachi population is crazy about music, it is the Karachi girls. They are die hard fans of pop music and music channels on various Pakistani TV channels. They can make or break any singer or artist in a matter of months. This power no other group in Pakistan has, and is unique to Karachi girls pop following.

Jobs
More and more girls in Karachi are finding jobs and embarking on careers of their own. Gone are the days when girls of Karachi used to look forward to getting married after finishing their colleges. Now, the first priority of any middle class Karachi girl, and even lower middle class girls is getting a nice, decent paying job which can make her stand on her feet. Thanks to a good economic situation, coupled with IT and technology sector advancement, Karachi girls are finding jobs easily.



Internet
A huge population of Karachi's internet community is composed of girls. Girls like to chat with their friends during late hours on MSN, Yahoo, Google or mIRC or various IRC channels. Being less outgoing than boys, girls find internet to be a perfect hideout and hangout. The recent popularity of social networking sites such as Orkut, Facebook and other places have given girls in Karachi a great opportunity to interact with anyone around the world.

Games
Girls in Karachi are famous for being experts in various games. Those could be computer games, vidoe games, arcade or even board games. Some of the most popular activities amongs girls in Karachi are different 'social games' which require more friends, like carrom board, jeopardy, monopoly etc.