Mr. Samir Ahmed Elected as the Vice Chairman of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE)

NOTICE:  Mr. Samir Ahmed Elected as the Vice Chairman of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE)
 
Islamabad (Pakistan), Sep 13, 2010: Mr. Samir Ahmad, Managing Director of National Commodity Exchange of Pakistan (NCEL) has been elected as the new Vice Chairman of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges by the Executive Committee (Board of Directors) of the SAFE. It may be mentioned that in the recently reconstituted Executive Committee of the Federation, Pakistan was to nominate one official from the primary members group comprising of the stock & the commodity exchanges of Pakistan for which the name of Mr. Samir was proposed by the SAFE Secretariat, and accordingly unanimously approved and voted by the EC.
 
Mr. Samir Ahmed, who assumed the office of MD NCEL during 2009, already has led the exchange in making it the commodity exchange as the second most liquid exchange in Pakistan within a very short span of time. NCEL’s traded value now surpasses the combined traded value of both the Lahore & Islamabad stock exchanges, and aims to become the most liquid exchange of Pakistan. Mr. Samir Ahmed has held various management positions in the financial sector since 1983, including International Banking, Investment Banking, Capital Markets and Financial Regulation. In addition to serving in Pakistan, he has also worked in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. His most recent assignment before NCEL was as CEO of IGI Investment Bank where he served from 2004 to 2009. IGI is Pakistan’s largest investment bank with a paid up capital of more than Rs. 2 billion and is listed on all 3 stock exchanges in Pakistan. Before that he served as CEO/Managing Director of the Lahore Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2004, where he led an extensive market reform process, working closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. From 1999 to 2001 he worked for the Government of Dubai as Senior Advisor to Dubai Financial Market (DFM) which is being converted into NASDAQ OMX Dubai. He was a senior member of the team that set up DFM, UAE’s first stock market, which became operational in 2000. Mr. Samir has also spent 5 years in the equity brokerage industry, including the period 1995 to 1998 when he headed the equities business of ING Barings in Pakistan. He started his career in international commercial banking and stayed in this field for 10 years, working in Pakistan and Asia Pacific regions. Mr. Ahmed has a Bachelors degree in Economics from University of Chicago and a Masters degree from London Business School. Mr. Joseph Massey, the Chairman of SAFE and MD/CEO MCX-SX of India, has welcomed the election of Mr. Samir and has stated that with the landmark credentials relating to the capital markets experience, Mr. Samir shall prove to be a valuable addition in the SAFE EC and shall contribute effectively for the achievement of SAFE objectives. SAFE Secretray General has also welcomed Mr. Samir Ahmad on the EC and to the Vice Chairmanship of SAFE, and has expressed his faith that under his leadership, SAFE shall scale new heights of success.