The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has officially launched the InvestPak Portal, a new digital platform designed to simplify retail investment in government securities, broaden investor participation, and strengthen Pakistan's capital markets.

Speaking at the launch ceremony in Karachi, Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb described the initiative as a major step toward democratizing investment, allowing a wider segment of the population to directly invest in government securities through a digital platform.

The finance minister said the portal builds on the success of Raast, Pakistan's instant payment system, and highlighted investment democratization, diversification, and digital accessibility as the platform's key benefits. He added that the initiative is expected to encourage greater participation from young investors and Gen Z, making government securities more accessible through a modern digital experience.

Addressing the ceremony, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed said the launch represents another milestone under the central bank's Vision 2028, which aims to promote sustainable financial services and deepen Pakistan's financial markets.

He noted that the SBP has consistently worked to develop a transparent, liquid, and inclusive government securities market. As part of these reforms, non-competitive bidding was introduced in 2009 to enable small investors to participate in primary auctions without submitting price bids.

The governor added that secondary market transaction data has been published since 2010 to improve market transparency and 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).

Further reforms followed in 2021, when the Central Depository Company (CDC) and the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) were integrated into the primary dealer framework, while participation requirements for brokerage firms were also simplified.

According to the SBP governor, these reforms have significantly strengthened Pakistan's debt market. The country now has a government securities yield curve extending up to 15 years, while average daily secondary market trading reached nearly Rs1 trillion in May 2026.

He also highlighted the sharp rise in investor participation, noting that non-bank holdings of marketable government securities have increased from Rs327 billion in 2009 to more than Rs10 trillion, with their market share expanding from 1% to 22% over the same period.

Jameel Ahmed described InvestPak as the next phase of Pakistan's financial market reforms, saying the platform will make investing in government securities as simple and convenient as digital banking, while promoting greater financial inclusion and expanding retail participation in the country's debt market.