PSX signs deal with NIFT to launch E-IPO System

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) on Tuesday signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of a new payment and registration system for the capital market.

It would be an important development for the capital market and its participants to digitally transform the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process through the E-IPO project. The E-IPO will be an automated system connecting investors and share registrars with brokers/ TRE Certificate Holders and banks through payment gateways including NIFT and the shares custodial company, CDC.

The digital portal would facilitate investors (local, foreign, and institutional), TRE Certificate Holders, and even banks for submission of online subscription applications from anywhere in the world through the internet.

The system is connected in real-time with Central Depository Company (CDC), payment gateways (eg NIFT and others), and shares registrars for providing end-to-end digitalisation.

PEX CEO and Managing Director Farrukh H Khan said, “The deployment of the new e-IPO system will open new vistas and expand the horizons for investors wanting to invest in new issuances through the convenience of a few clicks via the internet.”

This system would bring digitalisation for investors at the front-end and enhance the outreach of PSX, issuers and investors in terms of the IPO process as a whole.

The connectivity that this system ensures between investors, share registrars, brokers, banks, gateway firms like NIFT and the shares custodians, CDC, was a great step forward for PSX, ha said.

NIFT CEO Haider Waha said, “Pakistan is showing strong economic outlook for 2021 and beyond with positive market sentiments in the stock market, the regulator is geared up for providing state of the art digital products and services to the local investors.”