The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has made an approach to buy a stake in the Pakistan Stock Exchange, The Nikkei Asian Review has reported.
If the deal goes through to buy up to 40 percent in the PSX, it will be the first purchase by a Chinese bourse in a foreign stock exchange.
According to the Nikkei report, Ayyaz Afzal, the former CEO of the Islamabad stock exchange - the PSX was formed in January from the consolidation of the Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi exchanges - said that positive news about a strategic investor could be made by March 2017.
Azfal said the PSX had also received a letter of intent from a Middle Eastern bourse, which Nikkei did not name.
The PSX's KSE100 index gained almost 24 percent in the year to September 30 and year-to-date gains of more than 23 percent, closing on Friday at an all-time high of 40,542 points. It was Asia's best performing stock market in the third quarter.
The SSE, which is China's largest stock exchange, declined to comment to Nikkei on the reported approach.