KARACHI: 30 October, 2014 – BMA Capital Management Limited, Pakistan’s premier financial services group concluded a four day Road Show in Hong Kong today.
BMA team, led by the CEO, Moazzam M. Malik, met with more than fifteen Tier 1 Global Investors and International Brokers to raise awareness about the Pakistan Opportunity, Recent Developments, Macroeconomic Outlook, Privatization Program and Capital Market Strategy.
Peaceful progress through the recent political turmoil, pace of economic revival and the privatization program remained the key areas of interest for international investors. “Now that the sit-ins and protests have cooled down, International Investment community appears to have a greater conviction on the strength of Pakistan’s institutions. They now do not see a possibility of major political shake-ups as much as they did ten years ago,” said Azfer Naseem, CFA, Director Research & Business Development at BMA. “Fund Managers like the Banking and Oil sectors and are now beginning to develop interest in the Manufacturing and Consumer Cyclicals to capitalize on the revival of economic growth,” he added.
Bilal Athar, Head of Equities was optimistic about investor appetite in the upcoming secondary offerings by the government. “Large funds want to take positions with minimal impact cost and the upcoming GDRs of OGDC and HBL offer an ideal opportunity for such fund managers. They are actually looking forward to it.” Omair Chaghtai, Head of International Sales at BMA Capital added that execution with a minimal impact cost has recently become a major challenge in trades by foreign funds. “That’s the reason why block trades have become popular with foreign institutions as well.”
Moazzam M. Malik, CEO of BMA Capital considers Road Shows and Corporate Access Events to have played a major role in Pakistan’s return to international markets. “Pakistan is a country of headlines and bottom lines. Unfortunately, we have had a larger share of negative headlines in the last five years which made Pakistan a weak top down case. You had to go out and take the investment case to an investor’s table. But now, things are changing and funds are more focused on the positives on ground.”

BMA Capital Management Limited, Pakistan’s premier financial services group is pleased to announce that the firm has been recognized at the CFA Excellence Awards organized by the CFA Society Pakistan on September 18th 2014.

BMA Capital’s nominated Analyst Azfer Naseem, CFA has been awarded the “Best Equity Research Analyst for Year 2013 – Runner Up” and nominated Trader Junaid Shehryar Godil the Best Equity Trader for Year 2013 – Runner Up

These annual awards are considered the capital markets’ industry benchmark and are based on a confidential poll surveying respondents namely buy-side asset managers and investment professionals from Pakistan’s financial sector including banks, asset management companies, DFI’s and other financial institutions.

Commenting on the news, Moazzam M. Malik, Chairman & CEO of BMA Capital said “this independent recognition is an excellent result for the firm and underscores the talent and high-quality research and equity franchise that BMA Capital has. It is a proud moment for these two individuals and for the entire firm. BMA Capital is the only capital markets firm which has successfully been able to secure awards in both the prestigious categories of Best Equity Research Analyst and “Best Equity Trader”. It also validates the internal changes the firm has instituted to attract the most talented human capital and prepare tomorrow’s leaders.

BMA is soon to unveil the re-branding of our research platform to further enhance the firm’s reputation for providing market leading products to existing & prospective clients” said Fawaz Valiaani, Chief Operating Officer of BMA Capital. We thank our valued clients for the continued trust and support, and assure you of our ‘top-notch’ services and corporate best practices.

Lahore: BMA Capital Management Limited and the Karachi Stock Exchange organized an Investor Awareness Program, as part of a Nationwide Awareness Campaign to enhance the investor base, in Lahore at a local hotel on June 20, 2014. Around 450 businessmen including the Members of Lahore Chamber of Commerce, Jewelers, salaried professionals and people from all walks of life attended the seminar.

Mr. Nadeem Naqvi, Managing Director, Karachi Stock Exchange briefed the participants about the Risks and Returns of equity markets and urged potential investors to attain knowledge about the basics of Personal Financial Planning in order to be able to better design an investment strategy which is in line with their financial goals and needs.

Mr Azfer Naseem, CFA, Director Research & Business Development at BMA Capital gave a detailed stock market synopsis and addressed the key question in every one’s mind; has the stock market risen too much?. Azfer highlighted that BMA thinks that the market has a lot more room to go because of several reasons. He said that the stock market is trading at very attractive multiples, and the listed companies are expected to have a year with very strong earnings growth in FY15. Pakistan, which is classified as a Frontier Market, is much more attractive than its other Frontier peers. Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook is improving, and the government has initiated a privatization program that is attracting a lot of foreign interest. Foreign investors are generally optimistic about Pakistan’s economic outlook and capital market performance.

Mr. Fawaz Valiaani, Chief Operating Officer at BMA Capital Management Limited while speaking on the occasion said that it was for the first time ever in the history that the brokerage industry has taken such an initiative. He also thanked the KSE for participating in the event as a co-host; and he said that such campaigns would have a long and enduring impact on the overall economic development of Pakistan. He described BMA Capital as one of the leading securities brokering, asset management and investment banking firms in Pakistan which is committed to working with the KSE in order to enhance the investor base. “We provide ‘one-stop shop’ financial services and sound fundamental research to the general public, institutional and foreign investors”.

Karachi: BMA Capital Management Limited, Pakistan’s premier financial services group hosted a corporate briefing on Hub Power Company Ltd (HUBC) on Tuesday 17th June 2014. Mr. Khalid Mansoor, CEO Hub Power Company Limited, talked about the issues facing the Power sector and discussed the future plans of HUBC.

Mr. Mansoor highlighted the impact of various measures taken by the government to resolve the circular debt that has stretched the balance sheets of the power sector companies for many years. He discussed the importance of setting up coal based power plants in Pakistan and said the returns on offer are highly attractive. Mr. Mansoor highlighted that his company is pursuing a 660 MW coal based power plant to capitalize on the coal opportunity. He also shed light on HUBC’s recent efficiency improvement project and said that these initiatives will create long term value for the shareholders. Hub Power Company Limited has always remained the investment of choice for investors. Its stable dividend stream, backed by US dollar linked revenues and a cost pass through business model makes it a low risk investment.

The briefing was attended by analysts, fund managers CIOs and CEOs of top Mutual Funds, Insurance Companies and equity divisions of Banks. Audience had a keen interest in the company’s future dividend payout policy in the backdrop of expansion plans and timeline of completion of the efficiency improvement projects

Concluding the overall briefing, Mr. Fawaz Valiaani, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at BMA Capital said, “such corporate briefings pave the way for Research Analysts and Investors to get deep insights on the management’s views and their strategies to cope with challenges faced by their businesses. It strengthens investors’ confidence due to the management’s willingness to come and discuss the issues on an open platform”.

Usman Zahid, Head of Research at BMA Capital added “BMA Capital aims to continue conducting such corporate briefings in the future in order to complement the trust and bondage of our existing and prospecting stakeholders. It is an honor for BMA Research Team to be able to host such knowledgeable gatherings. We thank you for the continued trust and support, and assure you of our ‘top-notch’ services and corporate best practices”.

Karachi: BMA Capital Management Limited, Pakistan’s premier financial services group hosted a corporate briefing of Attock Cement Company Ltd (ACPL) on Thursday 15th May 2014. Mr. Irfan Amanullah, CFO Attock Cement Company Limited, briefed about the growth prospects and competitive dynamics of the cement industry and also discussed the future plans of his company.

Mr. Amanullah highlighted that unlike other developing economies, cement demand in Pakistan has not been growing due to absence of government’s investment in any major public development projects. However, he expects this trend to change in the near future on the back of increasing foreign flows and better economic management by the government. “Pakistan is faced with a shortfall of 3.0-3.5mn housing units and ~300K is added to this stock every year. In addition, there is a huge infrastructure gap – road networks, dams, bridges – that needs to be filled. If the government is able to increase its revenues, it will be able to route the surplus in to development programs in housing and infrastructure,” he added.

Mr Amanullah expects exports to Afghanistan to decline but was optimistic about demand in the Middle East and Africa. “Capacity expansions in the Middle East and India would be absorbed due to increasing demand from Africa and Sri Lanka,” he added.

He emphasized the importance of price discipline in both domestic and export markets for long term sustainability of the industry. “However, price increases are no longer the margin driver for the industry. Key driver is going to be reduction in production costs,” he further said.

Mr Amanullah touched upon the potential earnings impact from Attock Cement’s 3000 tons per day grinding mill in Basra, Iraq and also discussed various measures that the company is taking to improve its production efficiencies.

Karachi: BMA Capital Management Limited, Pakistan’s premier financial services group, today announced that Bilal Athar, a leading capital markets expert has joined its management team as an Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Equities to boost BMA’s equities business with institutional, international and retail clients.

Bilal has over 17 years of extensive experience in Pakistan’s equity capital markets. Prior to joining BMA, he has held senior positions heading Equities at JS Global (Head of Business Development), Elixir Securities (Director Equity Sales), Invisor Securities (Head of Brokering), and W.I. Carr (Head of Retail).

Commenting on the news, Moazzam M. Malik, Chairman & CEO of BMA Capital said “with his impressive track-record gained with major Pakistani institutions and his strong knowledge of the local & regional equity markets, Bilal is probably one of the most senior, experienced and respected professionals of the financial services industry in Pakistan. All our team is really excited to work with him as he brings unparalleled expertise and a wealth of business opportunities and products, especially with respect to foreign emerging & frontier market investors who have an interest in Pakistan and BMA Capital’s own regional growth plans.

Karachi: BMA Capital Management Limited, Pakistan’s premier financial services group, today announced the appointment of two senior management positions to strengthen its high-profile corporate finance & advisory team in Pakistan. The two executives bring with them rich and varied experience in the investment banking business.

Syed Hassan Ali, a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accounts (UK) has joined BMA Capital as Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance & Advisory. Prior to joining the company, Hassan was associated with KPMG Pakistan for eight and a half years and was lately its Manager Advisory, Transactions & Restructuring.

At the same time, Usman Saeed has also joined BMA as Vice President, Corporate Finance & Advisory; he brings with him seven years of experience in corporate finance & equity research having previously been employed at Arif Habib and Taurus Securities. He is an MBA in Finance and Bachelors of Science (Honors).

Welcoming the two executives on the team, Moazzam M. Malik, Chairman & CEO at BMA said, “We are on a growth path, the general elections of 2013 coupled with the incoming Govt’s economic reforms agenda is providing us with many opportunities, with the induction of Hassan and Usman BMA plans to further strengthen its corporate finance product offering ranging from mergers & acquisitions advisory, capital raising via the debt & equity capital markets, privatization, restructurings, Islamic finance, transaction support services & private equity investments in Pakistan and regional markets; the team at BMA welcomes the two executives.”

Overseas Pakistanis may be game changer

Karachi: In an exclusive interview with The News, Chief Executive Officer of BMA Capital and veteran businessman Moazzam Mazhar Malik chats about the various challenges facing the PML-N government.