PSX sees higher listings, 7 companies raise Rs8bn

Contrary to last year’s gloomy conditions, the booming equity market attracted many initial public offerings (IPOs) and companies raised over Rs8 billion in calendar 2024. Market experts said such a favourable situation emerged after 2021, making it attractive for investors while the Pakistan Stock Exchange set records daily, encouraging companies to tap into the equity market. A total of seven listings have been completed in 2024 so far. Of these, five IPOs were on the main board and two (initial offerings) on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) board, which is a separate PSX counter reserved for smaller and riskier companies, said a research report by Arif Habib Ltd.