KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) along with 78 other exchanges across the world marked the sixth World Investor Week (WIW) 2022 through a gong ceremony held at PSX trading hall.
The WIW is being held in exchanges around the world from October 3 – 9, 2022. PSX held this event for the second consecutive year.
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), of which PSX is an Affiliate Exchange, partners with the International Organisation of Securtities Commissions (IOSCO) in holding the WIW.
Representatives from leading academic institutions, professional bodies, and securities brokers, were present at the event. The week-long activities in World Investor Week are planned to promote the importance of financial literacy and raise awareness about investor education and protection. The objective was to encourage financial inclusion and foster learning opportunities for investors.
The gong was struck by PSX Board Chairperson, Dr Shamshad Akhtar amidst the presence of senior management of PSX and heads of leading brokerage houses, to begin the trading day and mark the beginning of WIW.
“In Pakistan, lack of financial education and awareness is a matter of deep concern. Deficiency in familiarity with long-term investments and knowledge of choice of suitable and diverse products, investment options and stock market perceptions are all holding back the capital market development,” Dr Akhtar said.
“Given the lack of financial literacy and investor education, Pakistan’s financial penetration and diversification are a challenge and stifle saving and investment opportunities for the nation. Investor education relevance is self-evident in Pakistan but it needs to be targeted and reinforced by policies by the public sector and action in the private sector.”
She further stated that the best bet was to capitalise on the growing middle-income segment and the demographic dividend in the economy, which both require dedicated investor education. “About 19.3 percent of our country falls in the age group of 15-24 years while 34.7 percent is around 25-54 years of age, whereas our women’s contribution to the economy could grow with improved financial access. Over half of our population including our youth need to be targeted and educated on financial management, savings and investment,” she added.
PSX COO Nadir Rahman said, “PSX has held more than 200 sessions throughout the outgoing fiscal year on investor education and awareness for academic institutions, government bodies, professional bodies, and diverse chambers of commerce.”
“Given the current economic environment, where high inflation persists, it is imperative to understand the basics of savings, investing, financial planning and investor protection so that members of the general public can prudently invest.”
The event concluded with a panel discussion which comprised of panellists, Talib Karim, President of Institute of Business Management (IoBM); Mobashar Sadik, CEO of Institute of Financial Markets of Pakistan (IFMP); Ms Hina Dhedhi, Chairperson of AKD Securities Limited, and Shahid Ali Habib, CEO of Arif Habib Limited.
The outcome of the discussion spelt out practical steps that need to be taken to increase the outreach on financial awareness and education so as to generate interest and encourage the general public, especially youth, to invest in the capital market.
A presentation on the ‘My Portfolio’ web-based portal and a brief on the ‘Knowledge Center’, a portal on investor education, was also delivered for information and knowledge of the participants of the event by Raeda Latif, chief marketing and business development officer at PSX.