PSX introduces simplified Sahulat Account for investors

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday introduced a simplified Sahulat Account for investors to invest in stock market.

Investors can open a Sahulat Account by submitting only their computerised or smart national identity card (CNIC/SNIC) and start investing up to an amount of Rs800,000, PSX release said.

“All licensed securities brokers are offering the Sahulat Account facility. Moreover, the account can be opened online as well.”

“Investors need not submit any specific evidence of source of income such as salary slips or bank statements, etc to open the account.” it added.

Pakistani individuals such as students, housewives, novice investors, and others wanting to invest in the stock market can open Sahulat Account to make an investment.

“The Sahulat Account involves an extremely simplified and straightforward process of account opening,” said MD and CEO PSX Farrukh H. Khan.

“Coupled with recent improvements in online account opening and local KYC sharing, it has never been easier for individuals to open a brokerage account and benefit from investing in the stock market,” he added.

According to PSX, the simplified account has a simplified opening process to attract people who remain hesitant to go through numerous documentation process found in conventional account opening processes.

As per the process, any individual identified as ‘low risk’ through risk assessment can open a Sahulat Account. Securities broker may apply simplified due diligence measures, which include verification of identity of customers.

Farrukh H. Khan said Pakistan Stock Exchange continued efforts to expand its outreach and become accessible to investors, particularly retail investors, throughout the country. “We are now counting upon our ecosystem members, securities brokers, to leverage these developments to facilitate and bring in new investors.”

He was of the view that the ease with which investors could open a Sahulat Account was proof of PSX’s efforts to not only provide greater accessibility to individual investors, but also increase the number of investors on the stock exchange.

“We are now counting upon our ecosystem members, the securities brokers, to leverage these developments to facilitate and bring in new investors.”

In order to remove any kind of ambiguity on part of securities brokers and their customers, Pakistan Stock Exchange has already issued a notice with respect to the account opening process for the Sahulat Account.