Bank Alfalah’s new instrument listed, oversubscribed

KARACHI: Bank Alfalah’s new debt instrument, a medium-term note in the form of Term Finance Certificates (Tranche Series-A) of Rs11 billion, was listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday.

To celebrate the innovative new debt instrument, a gong ceremony was held at the PSX. Bank Alfalah CEO Atif Bajwa struck the gong in the presence of the PSX board members, as well as other senior management of the exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the bank.

PSX CEO and MD Farrukh H Khan said “It is indeed a very welcome and positive development for the debt market of Pakistan that Bank Alfalah has issued and listed its Tranche Series-A TFCs of Rs11 billion on the Exchange.”

He said Bank Alfalah has always been innovative whereby for the first time a shelf prospectus against issuance of Rs50 billion TFCs has been approved.

Bank Alfalah has presence in both the brokerage and asset management industries and has recently become the first market maker of debt securities as well. “I am very pleased that they are making their mark yet again on PSX through this innovative debt instrument, which will help provide depth and dynamism to the debt sector of the capital market of Pakistan,” Khan added.

Bank Alfalah CEO Bajwa thanked SECP and PSX for promoting the capital markets of Pakistan. Pakistan’s debt capital markets were still at a nascent stage and the efforts of all the stakeholders to develop this market based on global best practices was much appreciated.

Arif Habib Group Chairman Arif Habib said, “There was a time when we, as consultants, would approach the SECP or the Stock Exchange for facilitation of a new issue but, since the last two years, we have not felt the need to make the first call for new issuances. The SECP and the PSX would already be standing with us to facilitate issuers on the equity and debt sectors of the capital market.”PSX Board Chairman Sulaiman Mehdi said it was a proud moment for our capital market that the first tranche of Rs11 billion of the debt issue by Bank Alfalah has already been oversubscribed.