KARACHI: Pakistanis can now invest up to Rs1 million on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) through a “highly simplified” Sahulat Account, which provides “exceptional ease” of account opening.
A brief notification by the PSX said on Monday the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has “duly approved the enhancement in (the) position limit for Sahulat Account” from Rs800,000 to Rs1m, effective immediately.
Launched in April 2022, the Sahulat Account lets small retail investors buy and sell shares on the PSX by opening a basic account with a brokerage house after submitting their computerised/smart national identity cards.
“This is an ideal account for Pakistani individuals such as students, housewives, novice investors or others wanting to invest in the stock market... but have thus far felt hesitant to do so as they may have found the conventional account opening process tedious with numerous documents required to be submitted,” it said.
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All licensed securities brokers are now offering Sahulat accounts, which can be opened online as well.
Unlike traditional brokerage accounts, investors don’t have to submit any specific evidence for their source of income for opening Sahulat accounts.
Any individual identified as “low risk” through risk assessment can open a Sahulat Account. The securities broker may apply simplified due-diligence measures, which include the verification of the identity of customers.
“The Sahulat account involves an extremely simplified and straightforward process for account opening. Coupled with the recent improvements in online account opening and local KYC [know-you-client] sharing, it has never been easier for individuals to open a brokerage account and benefit from investing in the stock market,” the statement quoted PSX CEO Farrukh H. Khan as saying.
In a public talk five months after the rollout of Sahulat Account, Mr Khan said the simpler process for the on-boarding of small retail clients led to a “behavioural shift” among investors.
He said more than 45 per cent of new investors that stockbrokers on-boarded in the preceding three months were from second- and third-tier cities.
Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2023