KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) along with 78 exchanges across the world marked World Investor Week (WIW) 2021 through a gong ceremony held at PSX Trading Hall Friday. The WIW was held in exchanges around the world from October 4 – 10, 2021. The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), of which PSX is an Affiliate Exchange, supported the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) in holding the WIW.
Globally, the week-long activities in World Investor Week were planned to promote the importance of financial literacy and to raise awareness about investor education and protection. The objective being to encourage financial inclusion and foster learning opportunities for investors.
PSX organised several webinars & sessions for World Investor Week. Several sessions were held including seminars exclusively for women. Topics covered included investment in mutual funds, online account opening, E-IPO facility, investor protection, Shariah-compliant stock investments and much more. A social media campaign was also carried out to promote WIW and the importance of financial literacy.
The gong ceremony was held to include veterans of the educational field and capital market fraternity. The gong was struck by Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad, CEO of The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and Mrs. Sadia Rashid, President of Hamdard Group & Chancellor of Hamdard University, amidst the presence of CEO PSX – Mr. Farrukh H. Khan and PSX management team, amongst others. By striking the gong, PSX reiterated its mission to further financial literacy and increase awareness about basics of investment & investor protection whilst promoting capital raising for businesses through the Exchange.
Welcoming all participants at the gong ceremony to mark the World Investor Week, the MD PSX, Mr. Farrukh Khan, said, “I thank you all for joining us at PSX for this important event. The importance of financial literacy and investor education cannot be emphasised enough. In the current environment, financial inclusion and investor protection is of primary importance.” He added, “Today we would like to reach out to educational institutions, capital market participants and brokerage houses to work with us and help educate people, young and old, in basic financial concepts and literacy, enabling them to successfully create financial independence.”
Speaking at the occasion, CEO of The Citizens Foundation, Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad, said, “In terms of financial or general literacy, as a nation, we are faced with numerous challenges. One of the biggest challenges is imparting quality education. As individuals or as educational institutions, we must impart quality education, whether financial or otherwise, to our youth and younger generations. It is only when we have quality manpower and human resources on account of quality education, that we can be counted as one of the progressive nations in our region and beyond.” He further stated, “We are educating 270,000 students every year in our (TCF) schools, half of them girls, and 20,000+ women go through our adult literacy programme; an important component of which relates to financial literacy. There is no doubt in my mind that financial literacy is important for our coming generations. Moreover, I think to increase financial literacy, in this day & age of Information Technology, software applications such as virtual investment apps that are planned to be introduced by PSX can be very helpful to increase the knowhow of investments amongst the youth and the general public.”
The President of Hamdard Group, Mrs. Sadia Rashid, added, “It is indeed a great pleasure to be here at Pakistan Stock Exchange to mark World Investor Week. Financial literacy and education are necessary for all. As Chancellor of a University (Hamdard), I cannot but emphasise enough the importance of education for our youth and even for adults. It is not only necessary for the prosperity of individuals themselves but also for the cause of nation-building and overall progress of the country including the economy.”