Aurangzeb terms InvestPak new milestone in financial digitization

July 06, 2026 (MLN): Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has termed the newly launched InvestPak Portal a step toward democratizing investment in government securities, noting that it follows in the footsteps of Raast, which has proven highly successful.

The launch ceremony was held at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Karachi, where SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed also addressed the participants.

Senator Aurangzeb identified democratization of investment as an important aspect of the new portal, along with diversification as a second key benefit. He added that digitization would help draw the attention of youth and Gen Z toward investment in government securities.

Furthermore, Jameel Ahmed said today's launch reflects a milestone for the financial sector and SBP's Vision 2028, under which promoting sustainable financial services remains a strategic priority.

The governor said SBP has pursued a clear, long-term objective of building a deep and transparent government securities market accessible to a broader range of investors.

He recalled that non-competitive bids were introduced in 2009 to allow small investors to participate in primary auctions without submitting price bids, while publication of secondary market transactions began in 2010 to improve price discovery.

In 2014, government securities became tradable through the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), he said, adding that in 2021 market access was further expanded by integrating the Central Depository Company (CDC) and the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) into the primary dealer framework, alongside easing participation requirements for brokerage firms.

Jameel Ahmed said the results have been encouraging, with Pakistan now having a deep and liquid government securities market and a yield curve extended to 15 years.

He noted that average daily secondary market trading reached close to Rs1 trillion in May 2026, while non-bank holdings of marketable government securities have grown from Rs327bn in 2009 to more than Rs10trn currently, raising their market share from 1% to 22%.

He termed InvestPak the next step in this reform journey, describing it as a new gateway to Pakistan's government securities market that would make investing in these instruments as simple as digital banking.

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