Askari, BOP, and Meezan Bank added to MSCI Pakistan Index in quarterly review

MSCI Inc. has added three Pakistani companies—Askari Bank Ltd. (AKBL), Bank of Punjab (BOP), and Meezan Bank Ltd. (MEBL)—to the MSCI Pakistan Index, raising the total number of securities in the benchmark to 30.

The update was announced Tuesday as part of MSCI’s November Frontier Markets Quarterly Index Review. All changes will take effect on Nov. 24.

MSCI, a leading global provider of investment indexes and analytics, also announced 11 additions and two deletions to the MSCI Frontier Market Small Cap (Pakistan) Index.

The new small-cap entrants include AGP Ltd. (AGP), Big Bird Foods (BBFL), Gatron Industries (GATI), Ghani Chemical Industries (GCIL), Ghani Global Holdings (GGL), International Packaging Films (IPAK), Ittehad Chemicals (ICL), Javedan Corporation (JVDC), Sitara Chemical Industries (SITC), SPEL Ltd. (SPEL), and The Organic Meat Company (TOMCL).

The two deletions from the small-cap index are Atlas Battery Ltd. (ATBA) and Bank of Punjab (BOP). Following these revisions, the total number of constituents in the MSCI Frontier Market Small Cap (Pakistan) Index rises to 76.

An analyst at Foundation Securities said the latest review could strengthen Pakistan’s position within MSCI’s Frontier Market Indices and support sentiment among foreign investors.

“We believe the increased weight of Pakistan in the MSCI Frontier Market Indices after these additions will have a positive impact on both the market and foreign flows,” the analyst said.

Foreign investors have remained net sellers of Pakistani equities, with outflows totaling $165.6 million so far in fiscal year 2026, compared with $304.4 million in net selling during FY25, according to the brokerage.