In its continuous resolve to increase convenience for stock market investment, Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited is taking regular initiatives to provide ease and efficiency for the subscription of shares offered through IPOs to general public.
These efforts were translated recently in the successful subscriptions of the IPO of Interloop Limited took place on March 21st and 22nd, 2019. Investors had the option of either physically submitting the IPO applications at designated banks, using Electronic IPO portals of designated Banks or using Centralized eIPO System (CES) of CDC. CES is an online portal, available 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world and connected with all leading banks. CES became the premium choice of investors, as 2283 investors subscribed shares through CES, which makes it around 80 percent of all electronic subscriptions in the Interloop IPO and around 43 percent of total subscriptions (both physical and electronic).
This was also the first time that CDC introduced the IPO facilitation Account, an additional facility through which investors can subscribe securities even if they do not have CDC Account at the time of IPO subscription. The investors can later open their accounts and get their securities transferred in their respective accounts, till then securities will be in safe custody of CDC. This facility was introduced with the objective of facilitating new investors and encouraging maximum participation of retail investors in the IPO. Around 900 new investors participated in the Interloop IPO through this facility, which is a testament of the pilot phase’ success.
Commenting on this success, CEO-CDC Mr. Badiuddin Akber said, “This is an important step towards expanding the investor base in the Capital Market. We are hopeful that this facility will be utilized by a large number of new investors and will become a good tool for attracting new investors towards our market.” He further said that “While it is important to note that both CES and IPO Facilitation Account are free-of-cost facilities for investors, this endeavor is part of CDC’s long time commitment towards the development of Pakistan Capital Market and our continuous efforts to introduce new technological solutions to enhance ease of doing business.”