ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s stock-market investor base expanded by 47.3 percent during the first ten months of 2026, with nearly 219,000 net new investors entering the market as regulators and capital-market institutions stepped up efforts to simplify account opening, strengthen financial literacy and broaden public participation.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s investor base reached 681,965 at the end of October, compared with 463,071 at the close of December 2025. The increase of 218,894 investors exceeded the combined additions recorded during the previous four calendar years, according to figures shared by Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Shehzad. The October closing total was also 56 percent higher than a year earlier.
October recorded 26,843 new investor accounts, comprising 26,801 individual accounts and 42 corporate accounts. Separately, the net addition to the investor base was 25,747, against 25,281 in September, an increase of 1.8 percent. The distinction matters because gross account openings and net additions to registered investors measure different aspects of market participation.
The monthly net addition rose from 20,600 in January to 25,747 in October, an increase of 25 percent.
During January– September, cumulative additions stood at 193,147, according to the monthly figures compiled for the period.
The expansion follows a strong financial year for equities. PSX’s annual report shows that the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed FY2025–26 at 180,301.70 points, compared with 125,627.31 a year earlier, a gain of approximately 43.5 percent. Market capitalisation increased from Rs15.24 trillion to Rs20.20 trillion, while the value traded across the ready and futures markets rose from Rs9.79 trillion to Rs14.20 trillion.
These figures describe the completed financial year rather than current market levels.
Young investors accounted for most individual accounts opened in October. People aged 18–30 opened 14,634 accounts, representing 54.6 percent of new individual accounts, while those aged 31–45 opened 9,290, or 34.7 percent. Together, the two groups accounted for 89.3 percent of the monthly individual total.
Women opened 3,923 accounts, representing 14.6 percent of new individual accounts, compared with 22,878 accounts opened by men.
The figures show that widening women’s participation remains an important area for investor outreach.
Punjab contributed 14,891 new accounts and Sindh 7,643, together accounting for 83.9 percent of October’s total. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded 1,894 accounts, Islamabad 1,419, Balochistan 370, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 340, Gilgit-Baltistan 150 and investors based abroad 136.
Sahulat accounts remained the main route for new individual account openings. A total of 20,698 were opened during October, representing 77.2 percent of new individual accounts, against 6,103 normal accounts.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan raised the Sahulat account investment limit from Rs1 million to Rs3 million in March. Subsequent reforms permitted investors to maintain a Sahulat account with more than one securities broker, subject to one such account per broker and the applicable account limit.
The regulator’s consolidated investor onboarding framework, issued through Circular No. 19 of 2026, introduced processing timelines of one working day for complete Sehl/Sahulat applications and two working days for normal accounts. It also provides for application tracking and written reasons for rejection, while reducing repeated verification across regulated institutions.
Earlier amendments enabled IBAN-based digital verification as an alternative means of completing customer verification requirements. The change allows regulated intermediaries to use verified banking information while retaining applicable anti-money laundering and customer due-diligence safeguards.
Market infrastructure has also been upgraded. PSX moved to the T+1 equity settlement cycle on February 9, 2026, shortening settlement to the next working day and reducing the period of outstanding settlement exposure.
The increase in participation has coincided with renewed public-offering activity. SECP approved 14 IPOs during FY2025–26. In a separate calendar-year update issued on June 29, the regulator said it had approved ten IPOs in the first half of 2026, of which nine had completed their offerings and raised more than Rs20 billion. The fiscal-year and calendar-year figures cover different periods and should not be added together.
Subsequent approvals included Tasdeeq Information Services, whose prospectus was approved in July as the first IPO approval of FY2026–27, and Agro Processors and Atmospheric Gases Limited in August. APAG’s proposed offering comprised 58.05 million shares, with an indicated fundraising range of Rs1.86 billion to Rs2.60 billion.
Most of the proceeds at the floor price were earmarked for capital expenditure, including production, storage and green-energy infrastructure.
The pipeline has continued into November. ABHI Microfinance Bank’s approved offering comprises 132 million shares at a floor price of Rs15, with book-building scheduled for November 5–6 and retail subscription for November 12–13. The floor-price offering size is Rs1.98 billion.
SECP’s wider market-development programme aims to increase the stock-market investor base to 2.5 million. Its institutional foundation includes the Capital Market Development Fund, established through an agreement signed by PSX, CDC, NCCPL, PMEX and the Institute of Financial Markets of Pakistan at a ceremony attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on May 6.
The fund was designed with an initial contribution of Rs120 million and annual contributions equivalent to 1 percent of participating institutions’ revenues to support financial literacy, retail participation and institutional capacity. At the ceremony, SECP Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu emphasised the need to simplify entry while retaining regulatory safeguards and to address gaps in financial understanding through coordinated national outreach.
The programme combines StocksPK, a mobile account-opening initiative being developed by CDC under SECP’s guidance, with online financial learning through IFMP and nationwide outreach. More than 100 sessions have been planned at universities, business chambers, armed forces institutions and other organisations. The sessions cover saving, investment choices, capital markets, mutual funds and insurance.
Participation also expanded at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange, where 1,077 new accounts were opened in October, taking its reported investor total to 61,915.
For SECP, the next challenge is to translate a larger account base into sustained, informed participation. Easier entry and a broader range of offerings can bring more households into regulated markets, while reliable disclosures, effective supervision and accessible complaint handling remain central to maintaining their confidence.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026