Business
New funds to bridge $15b gap | The Express Tribune
KARACHI:
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has launched a new category of mutual funds titled Infrastructure Schemes under the framework of open-end collective investment schemes, in a bid to mobilise long-term domestic savings for infrastructure development.
The initiative, identified as a key milestone under the Fund Management Department’s Roadmap 2025-26, was first discussed at the Mutual Fund Focus Group Session earlier this year. Following extensive consultations with the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (MUFAP) and other stakeholders, SECP finalised a framework aimed at regulatory clarity, investor protection, and alignment with national development priorities.
Pakistan requires nearly $15 billion annually to meet its infrastructure financing needs, but current spending stands at only 2.1% of GDP, far below the international benchmark of 8-10%. By carving out a dedicated regulatory category, SECP hopes to provide greater visibility to infrastructure-focused funds and give investors structured access to projects of national importance.
“SECP’s introduction of a dedicated framework for Infrastructure Mutual Funds marks a transformative step for Pakistan’s capital markets and economy,” said Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, Ali Najib.
For PSX and its investors, this development creates new investment avenues, particularly in long-term infrastructure sectors like energy, transport, housing, and healthcare, enhancing portfolio diversification and stability, he noted. Institutional and retail investors gain structured, transparent access to projects of national importance, potentially boosting liquidity and market depth.
For the common person, the framework indirectly benefits society by channelling savings into infrastructure development, leading to job creation, improved services, and better living standards while promoting sustainable economic growth, Najib added.
Under the new regulations, Asset Management Companies (AMCs) can classify infrastructure schemes as equity, debt, or hybrid funds. Investment opportunities cover a wide spectrum, including energy, transport, logistics, water, sanitation, communications, and social infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, industrial parks, affordable housing, and tourism facilities.
To boost investor confidence, minimum fund sizes have been set at Rs100 million for perpetual schemes. AMCs must also invest at least Rs25 million as seed capital in closed-end schemes exceeding three years’ maturity, ensuring manager-investor alignment. Such schemes may allow periodic subscriptions and redemptions after one year, with conditions clearly defined in offering documents.
The framework provides flexibility on Net Asset Value (NAV) disclosures, requiring updates at intervals not exceeding one month. Additionally, schemes must maintain at least 70% of net assets in infrastructure securities, with any shortfall to be regularised within three months.
Management fees have been capped at 3% for equity schemes and 1.5% for debt schemes, with hybrid funds following a weighted average formula. Sales loads are prohibited, though contingent loads may apply for early redemptions in closed-end schemes.
Maaz Azam, Research Head at Optimus Capital Management, termed the framework an “alternative investment avenue” that could strengthen transparency and accountability in infrastructure projects. He observed that corruption and poor quality often mar public projects, but a regulated fund structure could enforce higher standards and return-oriented practices. “This is a good step,” Azam said. “It gives investors exposure to a new asset class, while the country benefits from long-term infrastructure development.”
The SECP initiative is seen as part of broader efforts to expand the role of capital markets in Pakistan’s economic development. By bridging the infrastructure financing gap, the regulator aims to attract both domestic and international investors while reinforcing confidence in the fund management industry.
The FTSE 100 closed lower on Thursday, despite gains elsewhere in Europe, held back by a number of stocks trading ex-dividend.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 38.68 points, 0.4%, at 9,216.82. The FTSE 250 ended 60.63 points lower, 0.3%, at 21,744.40 and the AIM All-Share finished down 1.16 points, 0.2%, at 761.21.
On the FTSE 100, insurer Aviva topped the fallers, 3.1% lower as it traded ex-dividend, while LondonMetric Property, down 2.0% and Auto Trader, down 1.6%, also lost ground as they traded without entitlement to their payouts.
Among the risers was sports retailer JD Sports Fashion, up a further 2.8%, building on Wednesday’s gains which followed a well received trading update.
Berenberg raised its share price target to 155 pence from 128p.
“We believe that the 8.5x PE valuation fails to reflect the company’s potential for moderate growth, margin recovery and strong free cash flow,” the broker said in a research note.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.1% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%.
Nvidia was down 1.1% in New York at the time of the London close as concerns over China took some of the gloss off strong results and guidance.
The chip maker has not included any sales from China in its guidance as it grapples with the fallout from its trade war with the US.
Chief executive Jensen Huang said Nvidia is talking to the Trump administration about the “importance of American companies to be able to address the Chinese market”.
Data showed the US economy grew at a stronger pace than expected in the second quarter of the year.
According to the latest reading from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US economy rose 3.3% quarter-on-quarter on an annualised basis in the three months to June, upwardly revised from the first estimate which showed 3.0% growth.
The first quarter saw the US economy shrink 0.5%.
The annualised calculation shows how much the economy would expand if that quarterly pace of growth continued for a whole year, according to the BEA.
Friday sees the release of the monthly personal consumption expenditures inflationary gauge. An acceleration in the annual growth rate of core PCE prices to 2.9% is expected for July, from 2.8% in June, according to consensus cited by FactSet.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was at 4.22%, trimmed from 4.26% on Wednesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was 4.89%, narrowed from 4.91%.
The pound climbed to 1.3513 dollars late on Thursday afternoon in London, compared to 1.3469 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro rose to 1.1668 dollars.
In Europe, the Cac 40 in Paris ended up 0.2%, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt closed little changed.
Back in London, Drax fell 7.5% as it said the UK’s financial regulator had started a probe over the UK energy company’s sourcing for biomass pellets.
The Yorkshire-based power generator said it was notified on Tuesday that the Financial Conduct Authority has commenced an investigation into the company covering the period January 2022 to March 2024.
In a brief statement, Drax said the probe relates to certain historical statements regarding biomass sourcing and the compliance of Drax’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports with the listing rules and disclosure guidance and transparency rules.
Drax said it will co-operate with the FCA as part of their investigation.
In August 2024, Drax paid £25 million after industry regulator Ofgem found there was an absence of adequate data governance and controls in place that had contributed to the firm misreporting data in relation to the period April 2021 to March 2022.
Elsewhere, Hunting fell 2.9% as it reported increased revenue but lower profit in the first half of 2025 against a “volatile” market backdrop.
Looking ahead, Hunting said oil and gas demand has remained “steady and is likely to remain at a consistent level in the medium to long term”.
But in the near term, the geopolitical and macro-economic outlook remains “choppy”, it added.
PPHE Hotel shares sank 16% as the hotelier lowered full-year earnings guidance, alongside half year results.
The Amsterdam-based operator of Park Plaza and Art’otel hotels, among other brands, expects its full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be “similar” to that of 2024.
A barrel of Brent traded at 67.51 dollars late Thursday afternoon, down slightly from 67.55 on Wednesday. Gold pushed higher to 3,407.04 dollars an ounce against 3,387.91 on Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Anglo American, up 64.00 pence at 2,265.00p, JD Sports Fashion, up 2.74p at 100.10p, Weir, up 42.00p at 2,496.00p, Rio Tinto, up 67.00p at 4,637.00p and DCC, up 56.00p at 4,696.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Aviva, down 21.00p at 656.20p, Land Securities, down 12.50p at 559.00p, Endeavour Mining, down 52.00p at 2,492.00p, Relx, down 70.00p at 2,492.00p and LondonMetric Property, down 3.70p at 186.40p.
There are no major events scheduled in Friday’s local corporate calendar.
The global economic calendar on Friday has US personal consumption expenditures data, Canadian GDP numbers, German retail sales figures and CPI prints in France and Germany.
– Contributed by Alliance News
A Dick’s Sporting Goods store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Dick’s Sporting Goods raised its full-year sales and earnings guidance after delivering fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations.
The company is now expecting comparable sales to grow between 2% and 3.5%, up from a previous range of 1% and 3% and ahead of analyst estimates of 2.9%, according to StreetAccount.
Dick’s said its earnings per share are now expected to be between $13.90 and $14.50, up from a previous range of $13.80 to $14.40. Analysts were expecting $14.39 per share, according to LSEG.
Here’s how the company performed compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.38 adjusted vs. $4.32 expected
- Revenue: $3.65 billion vs. $3.63 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Aug. 2 was $381 million, or $4.71 per share, compared with $362 million, or $4.37 per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items related to its acquisition of Foot Locker and other costs, Dick’s posted earnings per share of $4.38.
Sales rose to $3.65 billion, up about 5% from $3.47 billion a year earlier. During the quarter, comparable sales also grew 5%, well ahead of expectations of 3.2%, according to StreetAccount.
“Our performance shows how well our long-term strategies are working, the strength and resilience of our operating model and the impact of our team’s consistent execution,” CEO Lauren Hobart said in a news release. “Our Q2 comps increased 5.0%, with growth in average ticket and transactions, and we drove second quarter gross margin expansion.”
While Dick’s comparable sales guidance came in ahead of expectations, its full-year revenue outlook was slightly below estimates. The company said it’s expecting revenue to be between $13.75 billion and $13.95 billion, below estimates of $14 billion, according to LSEG.
Dick’s said its raised profit guidance includes the impact of tariffs that are currently in effect. In an interview with CNBC’s Courtney Reagan, Dick’s executive chairman Ed Stack said the company has implemented some price increases to offset the impact of higher duties but has been “surgical” in its approach.
“We’ve been able to do what we need to from a pricing standpoint, whether that’s from the national brands or from our own brands, and then other places where we’ve held price, we’ve been able to do that, and we’ve offset it someplace else, which is what you have to do in these in these situations, and the team’s done a great job doing that,” Stack said.
Hobart said during Thursday’s call with analysts that the retailer hasn’t seen its shoppers balking at the “small-level” price increases that have gone into effect.
Hobart said broadly Dick’s hasn’t seen any signs of a consumer spending slowdown as a result of tariffs. She said Dick’s saw growth across all of its key segments during the quarter.
Foot Locker tie-up
The company said its guidance doesn’t include any potential impact from its acquisition of Foot Locker, such as costs or results from the planned takeover, which is expected to close on Sept. 8.
In May, Dick’s announced it would be acquiring its longtime rival for $2.4 billion, giving it a competitive edge in the wholesale sneaker market, most importantly for Nike products, along with a bigger global presence.
Nike is a critical brand partner for both Dick’s and Foot Locker and, at times, their performance is reliant on how well the sneaker brand is doing. During the quarter, Stack said new drops from Nike’s revamped running portfolio, including the Pegasus Premium and the Vomero Plus, are performing so well, it can’t keep the shoes in stock.
“Anything that’s new, innovative and kind of the cool factor, is blowing out,” Stack said.
However, the acquisition also comes with risks. Foot Locker’s business has been in the midst of an ambitious turnaround under CEO Mary Dillon but the company is still struggling.
In the quarter ended Aug. 2, Foot Locker’s sales fell 2.4% and it posted a loss of $38 million. The company faces a range of existential challenges, including its heavy mall footprint, its small online business and a core consumer that often has less discretionary income than the core Dick’s consumer.
Once the businesses are combined, Foot Locker’s struggles could ultimately weigh on Dick’s overall results. On the other hand, the combined company will become the No. 1 seller of athletic footwear in the U.S., which will allow it to better compete against its next biggest rival, JD Sports.
Stack acknowledged to CNBC that Foot Locker’s earnings “were not great” but said the company has a strategy.
“We have a game plan of how to turn this around,” Stack told Reagan. “We think that we can return Foot Locker to its rightful place in the top of this industry and we’re excited to roll up our sleeves and get started with that.”
Dick’s plans to operate Foot Locker as a separate entity. Moving forward, Stack said the company plans to break out details on how each brand is performing when releasing quarterly results. It’ll provide separate details on how Dick’s performed and how Foot Locker performed so investors can get a sense of what’s going on in each part of the business.
Hobart said during Thursday’s earnings call that as part of the acquisition, Dick’s plans to invest in Foot Locker stores and marketing. She also said Dick’s sees opportunities in merchandising and bringing in a new assortment of products.
“As Foot Locker becomes part of the Dick’s family, we are an even more important brand to our wholesale partners, and that’s part of the thesis,” Hobart said.
Earlier this week, Dick’s said it had received all regulatory approvals associated with the transaction. It’s unclear if it had to divest any stores to satisfy the FTC’s requirements.
— CNBC’s Ali McCadden contributed to this report.
Greggs has delayed the appointment of incoming board director Robert Moorhead due to a review into a major accounting error at his previous firm, WH Smith.
The high street bakery chain said Mr Moorhead – the former finance chief at WH Smith – had asked to delay his appointment until a review by Deloitte into the blunder at WH Smith is completed.
He had been due to start at Greggs on October 1 as an independent non-executive director and chair of the audit committee.
Mr Moorhead left WH Smith in 2024 after more than 20 years at the chain.
The delay to his appointment comes after WH Smith saw nearly £600 million wiped off its stock market value last week when it revealed a review of its finances had discovered trading profits in North America had been overstated by about £30 million.
It warned that annual profits would be lower than expected as a result, sending shares down by more than 40% at one stage during the day.
WH Smith said it had found an issue in how it calculated the amount of supplier income it received – leading it to be recognised too early.
It means the group is now expecting a trading profit for the US of about £25 million for the year to August – a cut from the previous £55 million forecast.
As a result, the company lowered its outlook for annual pre-tax profits to around £110 million.
Greggs said Kate Ferry will remain as a non-executive director and will continue as chair of the audit committee in the interim.
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