Sunday, October 12, 2008

Earn fast, loose fast - A case of KSE


KSE or Karachi Stock Exchange is a place not to be now a days. It is in bad waters and its members are edgy with depression. Some stock-going men have already committed suicide, people who've been unable to generate funds to return to their creditors.

Today, I came to know that KSE's iconic face, Mr. Akeel Kareem Dady (also called AKD), is set to loose around Rs.40 crore if KSE's limit is raised tomorrow or if it is not closed down for some time till funds are recd. from International donors like IMF and World Bank. I also came to know that members of KSE, people who were once worth at least Rs.8 crore and now are worth Rs.1.45 crore, have already paid Mr. Zardari, President of Pakistan, Rs.30 crore in bribery so that he may toe their line. The actual amount may be much more but this figure comes from an insider.

I have also come to know that KSE, if not stopped from further fall using artificial money, will crash so badly that no one will ever buy stocks from it for at least a year or till Zardari is thrown out from the country.

Now, all eyes are set on a board members' meeting with Government. It is the same stock exchange which was making waves across the globe and which had, few months back, touched a high mark of 15000 points at index table. Now, it stands miserably below 10,000 and that too artificially. Unlock it and you will see that it will fall 1000 points per day, which will take perhaps 9 trading sessions to close this business once and for all. (And for good!)

KSE is a very good example of people who have made hell lot of money in such a short time that they now stand among the richest men in this land. People who used to live in down towns have shifted to posh localities like Defence and PECHS. But twist of fate and murder of BB has caused so much loss to the nation - and add horrible number of banks going bankrupt in USA and Europe - that people who just last year shifted to their spanking new designer homes are set once again to return to their down towns, or in rare cases, commit suicide.

But what will people like AKD do who have not only his money on table for fry but the finance of gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim and Shakeel Chota, people who are wanted in India for multiple bombings in Bombay (now Mumbai). It is estimated that around 40 Billion Pak Rs. is at stake today and if nothing is done to reverse the trend, and that could happen only when economy is once again on the track, this mostly illegal money (earned from extortion, murder, kidnappings, interest rates, etc) will go down the drain drowning not only fat cats like AKD (and his financers like Dawood and Shakeel) but all the small investors who recklessly, for greed of easy money, went into the business and are now out on streets crying.

My idea is that Pakistan Govt. must either completely ban all Stock Exchanges from the country or implement international trading laws strictly. Pakistanis, it appears, are very greedy and can go to any length to achieve money with whatever means available without ever thinking of any consequences for themselves or their country.