apital Markets across the world have made many rich and many poor. Though the number of people losing money appears to be somewhat more, this notion simply becomes relative if one looks at it from stock investment perspective, where one loses one day and gains on another. KSE-100 index, the prime index in Pakistan, has been one of the best performing markets in the world. In just two years, the index has gained almost 8,000 points and market capitalization has crossed $55 billion. The index

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... ed through many factors that drove the market to new levels in just a small period. When the index started moving upwards at a very high pace in 2003-2004, many thought that it was simply a bubble, which will, like any other artificial boom, burst soon and similar situation of the stock market, like the one when the government had a nuclear test, resulted in the stock market taking a nosedive and touching all time low of less than 800 points, will occur. But this does not seem to be the case in the recent growth. Following are some of the major factors that have driven the KSE-100 to new heights: PRIVATIZATION FOR PEOPLE The process of privatization which again gained momentum with the new government deciding to privatize the state-owned entities and use the inflows to reduce poverty and improve infrastructure. The privatization process became the main driver of the stock market; every news directly or indirectly fuelling the market. The share of the