July 28th, 2022
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and Meezan Bank Limted, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank, signed an agreement whereby PSX, in collaboration with the Bank, will provide a dedicated Shariah-compliant trading platform for Roshan Digital Account (RDA) clients who are focused on investing in Shariah approved securities. The MoU was signed by the MD & CEO PSX, Mr. Farrukh H. Khan, and the Founding President & CEO Meezan Bank, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui amidst the presence of Chairperson PSX, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, and senior management of both the organisations.
This trading platform will be available through an online trading system provided by PSX called KiTS or Karachi Internet Trading System. Any RDA client of an Islamic bank can now avail this investment platform through the services of more than a 100 securities brokers, using KiTS as an Order Management System (OMS) for investing in PSX.
The purpose of this platform is to enable Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs) to securely invest in their homeland’s capital market in a Shariah-compliant manner. Moreover, with the development in KiTS that allow securities brokers to be on-boarded on this platform, this service can virtually be offered by many TREC-Holders who would be interested in providing this facility to their RDA customers. This provides clients a broader suite of securities brokers to select from for their Shariah-compliant investment needs.
The criteria for investing on Shariah-compliant platform has been developed by Meezan Bank and vetted by PSX Shariah Advisor. The specifications of the Shariah-compliant trading platform include Investing in KMI-All Share securities, Shariah-compliant IPOs and ETFs. Trading option is available only for Ready and Odd Lot markets. The recently bought shares can be sold on T+2.
Speaking at the launch of the Shariah-compliant trading platform for RDA clients, the MD PSX, Mr. Farrukh Khan, stated, “Pakistan Stock Exchange is at the forefront of using technology to enhance the experience of market participants including investors. The demand for Shariah-compliant offerings is consistently rising and this new & innovative platform offered by PSX to facilitate NRPs interested in investing in Shariah-compliant securities in a Shariah-compliant manner through the RDA platform shows that PSX is fully cognizant of the interests and demands of market participants.”
He further stated, “I congratulate Meezan Bank and the PSX team on achieving this objective to enhance investor experience. I would specially like to appreciate ZLK Securities for being the first brokerage house to integrate and enable this offering for their RDA clients. I hope that this will generate interest and confidence among Non-Resident Pakistanis to securely invest in the capital market in a Shariah-compliant manner. Furthermore, now with development in KiTS, the service can virtually be offered by interested TREC-Holders thereby offering them enhanced business opportunities.”
The Founding President & CEO of Meezan Bank, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui while speaking at the occasion said, “Meezan Bank is leading the industry with the highest share in RDA accounts and investment in equity market. The Bank’s advisory role in the extension of this service aims to improve the transparency and compliance of this solution with Shariah principles. ”
“The Bank is already offering a Shariah-compliant Trading Platform for Non Resident Pakistanis through 22 brokers which are on-boarded through their own systems. With the launch of this Shariah-compliant Trading Platform, brokers who are using KiTS will also be on-boarded with Meezan Bank to further extend these services to RDA customers. We are hopeful that this service will help tap into a wider RDA investor base that is seeking Shariah permissible investment options,” he further added.