950808

ICP considering

right & bonus

issues of funds

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Investment Corporation of Pakistan (ICP) proposes to expand capital base of its mutual funds.

Though ours are closed-end funds, we are working on the option of right and bonus issues like that of Golden Arrow, Managing Director of the ICP, Asadullah Khawaja, told participants at a pre-launching presentation of ICP's 25th Mutual Fund at Islamabad Stock Exchange.

The latest mutual fund of Rs 400 million has the prospects of right and bonus issues for the first time. There has been no such issues in all previous 24 funds floated and managed by the corporation.

On the occasion, Tariq Iqbal Khan President of Islamabad Stock Exchange paid rich compliments to the ICP saying that track record bears ample testimony to the fact that ICP is the best fund manager in the country.

Chief Manager of ICP's Islamabad Branch Arshad A'la Syed outlined the performance of the corporation and reviewed prospects of the 25th fund.

He said we would develop a sound portfolio out of the proceeds of his fund, as this is about the right time to invest when prices are low. A number of institutional investors, appreciating the strategic advantage under the current market conditions, have already responded very positively.

He said eversince the floatation of its first fund, the corporation has been able to pay regular dividends on its all funds. The dividend declared for the year ended June 1994, ranged between 16 percent to 65 percent. On the basis of past dividends performance, two of our funds earned top company award of KSE for the year 1992. Again for the year 1993, 10 of our funds earned the award.

He said the corporation performed a pioneering role in the field of floatation of Mutual Funds. Its First ICP Mutual Fund floated in the year 1967 is considered to be amongst the first mutual funds floated in Asia outside Japan.

Lately the corporation has accelerated the pace of funds floatations in that during the year 1992-93 alone it successfully floated two large sized funds namely the 21st ICP and 22nd ICP Mutual Funds for Rs 100.00 million and Rs 200.00 million each respectively. The response from the investors was overwhelming and both the funds were heavily oversubscribed (TRP-3).

During the year 1994 the corporation floated two more mutual funds namely 23rd ICP Mutual Fund of the size of Rs 200.00 million and 24th ICP Mutual Fund of the largest ever size of Rs 400.00 million, thus bringing in an additional capital to the tune of Rs 900 million during the last 3 years period out of the total capital of Rs 1520 million floated since the introduction of the First Fund in the year 1967. All these funds floated in this short span of time, met with tremendous response.