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.
Business
Trade talks: India, EU wrap up 14th round of FTA negotiations; push on to seal deal by December – The Times of India
India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) have concluded the 14th round of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in Brussels, as both sides look to resolve outstanding issues and move closer to signing the deal by the end of the year, PTI reported citing an official.The five-day round, which began on October 6, focused on narrowing gaps across key areas of trade in goods and services. Indian negotiators were later joined by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal in the final days to provide additional momentum to the talks.During his visit, Agrawal held discussions with Sabine Weyand, Director General for Trade at the European Commission, as both sides worked to accelerate progress on the long-pending trade pact.Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently said he was hopeful that the two sides would be able to sign the agreement soon. Goyal is also expected to travel to Brussels to meet his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic for a high-level review of the progress made so far.Both India and the EU have set an ambitious target to conclude the negotiations by December, officials familiar with the matter said, PTI reported.Negotiations for a comprehensive trade pact between India and the EU were relaunched in June 2022 after a hiatus of more than eight years. The process had been suspended in 2013 due to significant differences over market access and tariff liberalisation.The EU has sought deeper tariff cuts in sectors such as automobiles and medical devices, alongside reductions in duties on products including wine, spirits, meat, and poultry. It has also pressed for a stronger intellectual property framework as part of the agreement.For India, the proposed pact holds potential to make key export categories such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery more competitive in the European market.The India-EU trade pact talks span 23 policy chapters covering areas such as trade in goods and services, investment protection, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade, rules of origin, customs procedures, competition, trade defence, government procurement, dispute resolution, geographical indications, and sustainable development.India’s bilateral trade in goods with the EU stood at $136.53 billion in 2024–25, comprising exports worth $75.85 billion and imports valued at $60.68 billion — making the bloc India’s largest trading partner for goods.The EU accounts for nearly 17 per cent of India’s total exports, while India represents around 9 per cent of the bloc’s overall exports to global markets. Bilateral trade in services between the two partners was estimated at $51.45 billion in 2023.
Business
Telcos network costs rise: Gap between expenditure and revenue exceeds Rs 10,000 crore; COAI flags rising network investment burden – The Times of India
The gap between telecom operators’ network expenditure and revenue continues to widen, prompting industry body COAI to defend calls for higher mobile tariffs, citing the increasing financial burden of network deployment on service providers.Speaking at the India Mobile Congress, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General, SP Kochhar, told PTI that while the government has provided significant support to telecom operators through policies such as the right of way (RoW), several authorities continue to levy exorbitant charges for laying network elements.“Earlier, the gap until 2024 for infrastructure development and revenue received from tariffs was around Rs 10,000 crore. Now it has started increasing even further. Our cost of rolling out networks should be reduced by a reduction in the price of spectrum, levies etc. The Centre has come out with a very good ROW policy. It is a different matter that many people have not yet fallen in line and are still charging extremely high,” Kochhar said.He also defended the recent cut in data packs for entry-level tariff plans by select operators, stressing that the move was necessary given competitive pressures.Kochhar pointed out that competition among the four telecom operators remains intense, and there has been no significant trend suggesting that consumers are shifting towards low-cost data options.“There is a need to find ways to make high network users pay more for the data. Seventy per cent of the traffic which flows on our networks is by 4 to 5 LTGs (large traffic generators like YouTube, Netflix, Facebook etc). They pay zero. Nobody will blame OTT but they will blame the network. Our demand to the government is that they [LTGs] should contribute to the development of networks,” Kochhar said.He added that the investments made by Indian telecom operators are intended for the benefit of domestic consumers and are not meant to serve as a medium for profit for international players who do not bear any cost.
NEW DELHI: Equity investments in India’s real estate sector jumped 48 per cent year-on-year to $3.8 billion in the July-September period (Q3), a report said on Friday. This growth in inflow was primarily fuelled by capital deployment into land or development sites and built-up office and retail assets, according to the report by real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia.
In the first nine months of 2025, the equity investments increased by 14 per cent on-year to $10.2 billion — from $8.9 billion in the same period last year.
The report highlighted that land or development sites and built-up office and retail assets accounted for more than 90 per cent of the total capital inflows during Q3 2025.
On the category of investors, developers remained the primary drivers of capital deployment, contributing 45 per cent of the total equity inflows, followed by Institutional investors with a 33 per cent share.
CBRE reported that Mumbai attracted the highest investments at 32 per cent, followed by Pune at around 18 per cent and Bengaluru at nearly 16 per cent.
Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE, said that the healthy inflow of domestic capital demonstrates the sector’s resilience and depth.
“In the upcoming quarters, greenfield developments are likely to continue witnessing a robust momentum, with a healthy spread across residential, office, mixed-use, data centres, and I&L sectors,” he added.
In addition to global institutional investors, Indian sponsors accounted for a significant part of the total inflows.
“India’s ability to combine strong domestic capital with global institutional participation will remain a key differentiator in 2026 and beyond,” added Gaurav Kumar, Managing Director, Capital Markets and Land, CBRE India.
CBRE forecasts a strong finish for the investment activity in 2025, fuelled by capital deployment into built-up office and retail assets.
For the office sector, the limited availability of investible core assets for acquisition indicate that opportunistic bets are likely to continue gaining traction, the report noted.
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