Performance and capital structure of IPOs in Pakistan from 2000 to 2015

Background:When a privately owned firm or privatized government entity raises capital by selling its stocks for the first time to general public,is known as initial public offering(IPO).The underpricing phenomenon and ownership structure are important characteristics of IPO process that significantly affect the short-run and long-run performance of private firm and privitized entity.This study compares the short-and long-run performance,and factors affecting these performances for both private IPOs and privatized IPOs in Pakistan.It further investigates the relationship between capital structor and initial underpricing for both group of IPOs.Methods:Event study methodology is used to compares short-and long-run performance spanning from March 2000 to June 2015 of two categories of IPOs issued in the Karachi Stock Exchange(KSE).Multivariate regression analysis is applied to examine the factors that affect the short-run and long-run performance as well as for investigating the relationship betwen underpricing and ownership structure for both group of IPOs.Results:We find that both categories outperform in IPOs at which they are offered to investors on first day of trading,although differences in mean are insignificant.Over a five-year buy-and hold strategy,privatizing IPOs outperform and private IPOs underperform returns on the benchmark KSE 100 Stock Index.The results reveal that the size of the private firm or government entity,aftermarket risk of IPOs,and subscription ratio are significantly associated with the underpricing of IPO shares brought to market.First-day returns,market volatility and retained ownership are associated with higher five-year performance.We find that the concentration of ownership is similar,for both categories of IPOs;and significantly positive related to underpricing.The size of the firm/entity,aftermarket risk,return on assets and subscription ratio also affect ownership concentration.Conclusions:Same level of underpricing in both private and privatized IPOs reveals that Pakistan’s government is committed to its privatization policies as they developed capital markets by underpricing of IPOs.To make dispersion in ownership structure and to involve more small investors,the regulatory authorities such as Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan(SECP are required to take some steps to minimize concentration in ownership structure).There is a need of some specific range of underpricing by issuers and SECP.

Umbilical Cord Care Practices and Cord Care Education of Mothers Attending Health Care (Pakistan Prospect)

Neonatal mortality is of global concern, it is the death in the first month of life. According to WHO, 2.4 million children died globally in the first month of life2. Globally the neonatal mortality rate declined slowly from 28/100 live births in 2000 to 17.9/100 live births in 2019. It is a major challenge for the low socioeconomic group of countries. Most neonatal deaths occurred in south Asia and African countries, in 2019 out of 2.4 million death 81% occurred in the Southeast Asia. Objective: To evaluate and improve cord care practices of mothers to reduce the risk of cord related infections. Methodology: The mixed method will be used in this research, questionnaire is used for data collection, total collected sample is 391. Results: 354 (91.0%) of the 394 patients analyzed obtained prenatal care (ANC) in both traditional and nontraditional settings. Among these, 288 (72.3%) got cord care health education, whereas 106 (27.7%) did not. The overall documentation of the instructions for the use of metabolized spirits alone included 116 (48.9%) teaching institutions and 103 (43.5%) private hospitals. the average results show the age of the baby 1 - 7 days, the average age of the mother is 18 - 25 years. The average education of the mothers is primary. Participation of health centers is average. Most of the participants has 1 child. Conclusion: This research concludes the poor umbilical cord practices and knowledge. Those with information used it better. Raise awareness about umbilical cord care and improper behaviors, including using mentholated balms. Before women leave the hospital, they should learn cord care. Mothers must clean wires. Several healthcare organizations don’t provide cord care instruction, and what they provide isn’t research-based.

Developing strategy for rural transformation to alleviate poverty in Pakistan:Stylized facts from panel analysis

Sustainable income growth and poverty reduction remain critical challenges at the forefront of research in Pakistan,particularly in rural areas.To overcome these challenges,the role of rural transformation(RT)has emerged and gained importance in recent years.The present study is based on district-level data and covers the period from 1981 to 2019.The study attempts to quantify the role of rural transformation in boosting rural per capita income and alleviating rural poverty in the country.The study also aims to explore the impact of stages of rural transformation on rural per capita income and rural poverty alleviation.The empirical findings reveal that rural transformation(RT_(1)and RT_(2))is essential in enhancing rural per capita income and alleviating rural poverty.The role of the share of high-value crops(RT_(1))is more pronounced than the share of non-farm employment(RT_(2))in boosting rural per capita income and poverty alleviation.The trend of larger contribution of RT_(1)to enhance rural per capita income also continued at 2nd stage of rural transformation.In the case of poverty reduction,at 3rd stage of rural transformation,the role of RT_(2)is dominant.Our results indicate that districts at higher stages of rural transformation(both RT_(1)and RT_(2))tend to correlate positively with increased rural per capita income and reduced poverty rates,suggesting that progress in rural transformation is associated with improved economic conditions.However,it is important to note that this correlation does not necessarily imply a direct causal relationship between rural transformation and these economic outcomes;other factors may have influenced this relationship.In addition,the welfare impacts are more noticeable among the districts where a simultaneous shift from grain crops to cash crops and from farm employment to non-farm employment is observed.The study provides baseline information to learn experiences from fast-growing districts and to replicate the strategies in other districts,which boosts the RT process that may increase rural per capita income and enhance poverty reduction efforts.