How to Apply for an IPO on the Pakistan Stock Exchange

You apply for a PSX IPO online, through PSX's e-IPO System at eipo.psx.com.pk or CDC's Centralized e-IPO System at cdceipo.com. Paper forms at bank branches ended on 1 September 2025. The next retail window is SE Fruits and Vegetable, open from 12:00 am on 28 September to 11:59 pm on 29 September 2026, in lots of 500 shares.

At the reported strike price of Rs 40 a share, one lot of 500 shares costs Rs 20,000. That is the smallest application the company will accept.

We read the SE Fruits prospectus, published on 11 September 2026, and PSX's own e-IPO pages on 24 September 2026. Everything below on how to apply for an IPO in Pakistan comes from those documents unless we say otherwise.

SE Fruits opens to the public on 28 and 29 September

SE Fruits and Vegetable Limited offers 7.5 million shares to the general public on 28 and 29 September 2026. The price is the strike price set in book building, reported as Rs 40. You apply online only, in multiples of 500 shares.

An IPO, or initial public offering, is the first time a company sells its shares to the public before listing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). SE Fruits is a kinnow, mango and potato exporter founded in 1998 in Sargodha, Punjab. Its symbol on PSX will be SEFL.

The strike price is the one figure we could not read at source. The prospectus leaves it blank for a supplement to fill after bidding closes. Dawn and Business Recorder both reported on 23 September that bidding closed at Rs 40, the floor, with demand about 1.6 times the shares on offer. Check the supplement before you pay.

You need a CNIC, a bank account and ideally a CDC account

To apply you need a valid CNIC (or NICOP if you live abroad), a mobile number, an email address and a bank account or wallet that can pay through 1Link or NIFT. A CDC account is useful but not required.

Shares are issued only in book-entry form. That means they sit as an electronic record at the Central Depository Company (CDC), not as a paper certificate. So the application asks where to put them. You have three choices on PES:

• CDC Investor Account: an account you hold directly with CDC.
• Participant (sub) account: the account a broker opens for you under its CDC connection. If you already trade on PSX, you have one of these.
• IPO Facilitation Account: for people with neither. CDC holds your shares for you, then emails you to open a proper account so they can be moved across.

The facilitation account is a fair option for a first IPO. But you cannot sell shares parked there until you open a real account and ask CDC to move them. If you plan to keep investing, open a broker account first. The steps are the same ones in how to start investing in the PSX.

Two online systems accept IPO applications

PSX runs the e-IPO System, called PES, and CDC runs the Centralized e-IPO System, called CES. Both are free to register, open all year, and take applications 24 hours a day during a subscription period. Your broker or bank can also apply for you.

We opened eipo.psx.com.pk on 24 September 2026. It loads and states that registration is free and that the form is available 24/7. Typing cdceipo.com took us to CDC Access at cdcaccess.com.pk, CDC's investor portal. CDC's main site at cdcpakistan.com refused our automated check with a 403 error, so for CES we rely on the prospectus text.

The minimum is the same on every route: one lot of 500 shares at the offer price. Refunds follow the money back to the account that paid.

Apply on PSX's e-IPO System in seven steps

Register once on eipo.psx.com.pk with your CNIC and phone, set a password, keep the PIN you are sent, then pick the issue, enter the share count and pay through 1Link or NIFT. Registration can be done before the window opens.

1. Go to eipo.psx.com.pk and choose Register, then Individual. Enter your name, father's name, address, CNIC, email and mobile number. Your CNIC becomes your login ID.
2. Enter the one-time password (OTP) sent to your phone.
3. Open the email from PSX and set a password. You will then get a PIN by SMS and email. Keep it. You need it every time you subscribe.
4. Log in during the subscription period. Open Quick Links, then Recent Issues, and choose SE Fruits and Vegetable.
5. Press Subscribe. Choose CDC Investor Account, Participant Account or Facilitation Account, and enter the account number if you have one.
6. Enter the number of shares, in multiples of 500, press Submit and confirm with your PIN.
7. Pay. With 1Link you get a consumer number to pay as a 1Bill invoice in your banking app, ATM or wallet. With NIFT you enter your bank, account number and CNIC and confirm with an OTP.

Register now rather than on 29 September. OTP messages and emails can take time, and nobody wants to be setting a password at 11:40 pm. You can cancel an application with the Revoke option, but only before you pay.

PSX's own user manual, dated 2021, notes an SBP limit of Rs 50,000 on payments from mobile wallets. For a bigger application, pay from a bank account. Separately, the prospectus says 1Link told its member banks in August 2024 to remove transfer limits on e-IPO payments.

Overseas Pakistanis apply through a Roshan Digital Account

Non-residents can use PES or CES with a NICOP. Those investing through a Roshan Digital Account follow a separate CDC process: a linked CDC Investor Account, a form on CDC's e-Services portal, and payment that must reach CDC by 12:00 pm on the last day.

The prospectus sets out the steps. The Roshan Digital Account must be linked to an active CDC Investor Account, and you must subscribe through that account only. You register on csp.cdcaccess.com.pk, fill the e-IPO Subscription Form with CDC Participant ID 03277 and your Investor Account number, and get a Subscription ID.

Then transfer the exact amount from the RDA to CDC's designated account at the same bank. Email the PDF form and payment details to roshandigital@cdcpak.com. For SE Fruits that means before 12:00 pm PKT on 29 September, not midnight. If you do not yet have the account, the steps to open a Roshan Digital Account come first, and they take days, not hours.

Balloting decides who gets shares when demand is high

If the public asks for more shares than are on offer, a computer ballot is held in front of PSX representatives. Small applications are served first: all 500-share applications, then 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000, before anything above 2,000 is shared out.

The prospectus sets the order. If every 500-share application can be filled, they all are. If not, the ballot is held among the 500-share applications only. The same rule then moves up to 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 shares.

Anyone who applied for more than 2,000 shares gets 2,000 first if enough remain, and the rest pro rata, which means in proportion to what they asked for. If there is not enough for 2,000 each, a ballot picks who gets 2,000.

So in a hot IPO, a 500-share application has the best chance of getting something. A big application does not buy a bigger share of a crowded book. Splitting one person's money across fake names is illegal: the prospectus warns that money from false applications may be forfeited under Section 87(8) of the Securities Act, 2015.

Refunds and shares arrive within five working days

Within five working days of the subscription closing, shares are credited to your CDC account and money for unsuccessful applications is refunded or unblocked. Refunds go only to the account that paid. For SE Fruits, that points to early October 2026.

The prospectus cites regulation 11(4) of the Public Offering Regulations, 2017 for the five working days. If a company is late with a refund, its directors become liable to repay it with a surcharge of 2% a month, under Section 68 of the Companies Act. PES says in its user manual that refunds are processed through 1Link or NIFT, back to the paying account.

Once shares land, you can trade them after the company lists on PSX. Dividends from listed shares are taxed at 15% for people on the Active Taxpayers List and 30% for others, per the prospectus. So checking your filer status before you invest is worth two minutes.

Risks to understand before you pay

An IPO is not a fixed deposit. The share price can fall below the offer price after listing, and you can lose money. The prospectus lists its own risks, including customer concentration, seasonal earnings, weather and shipping costs. Read Section 5 before you apply.

We are not telling you to buy or skip SE Fruits. That is your decision. But a few facts from the document are worth knowing in plain words:

• The company is new as a corporate entity and relies on the track record of the business it took over, which the prospectus lists as its first risk.
• Its earnings are seasonal and depend on crops, so a bad kinnow season shows up in the results.
• Book building closed at the floor price, the lowest price allowed. That is a fact about demand, not a forecast.
• No one can guarantee you an allotment. Anyone who takes money on WhatsApp promising "confirmed IPO shares" is not running a legal route. A promised fixed return was also the warning sign in the Blink Capital Ponzi case, run through a licensed broker.

Only apply with money you will not need for a few months, and that you could live with losing part of.

Fixes for the problems people hit

Most failed IPO applications come from a wrong share count, a payment that never completes, or a lost PIN. Each has a fix inside PES, and PSX's IT support line is 111-001-122 for anything the portal cannot solve.

• Application rejected for share count: any number that is not 500 or a multiple of 500 is rejected. Apply for 500, 1,000, 1,500 and so on.
• Applied but did not pay: an unpaid application is not complete. Log in, open My Subscriptions and pay before the window closes.
• Lost the PIN: go to Quick Links, My Profile, Reset PIN. A new PIN is sent to your email and phone.
• Changed your phone number or email: you cannot edit CNIC, email or mobile yourself. Email PSX at itss@psx.com.pk.
• Wallet payment refused: the amount may be above your wallet limit. Pay from a bank account.
• Broker account blocked after you applied: the prospectus says shares are then parked in CDC's IPO Facilitation Account. Contact CDC at 0800-23275 to move them.

Common questions

Can I still apply for an IPO at a bank branch?

No. Physical applications were discontinued from 1 September 2025. Your bank can still apply for you online through PES.

What is the minimum amount to apply for the SE Fruits IPO?

One lot of 500 shares at the offer price. At the reported Rs 40, that is Rs 20,000.

Do I need a CDC account to apply for an IPO?

No. You can choose the IPO Facilitation Account, and CDC will hold the shares until you open an account.

Is registration on PES or CES free?

Yes. Both say registration is free, and it is open all year.

When will I get my shares or my refund?

Within five working days of the subscription closing, under the Public Offering Regulations, 2017.

Can overseas Pakistanis apply for a PSX IPO?

Yes, with a NICOP on PES or CES, or through a Roshan Digital Account using CDC's own process.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 24 September 2026. We read the final prospectus of SE Fruits and Vegetable Limited, dated 11 September 2026, from the company's site at sefruits.com, and PSX's draft prospectus notice PSX/N-970 of 5 August 2026. From the prospectus: the 30 million share issue, the 75% and 25% split, the Rs 40 floor and Rs 64 cap, bidding on 21 and 22 September, public subscription from 12:00 am on 28 September to 11:59 pm on 29 September 2026, online-only applications since 1 September 2025, the 500-share lot and minimum, the balloting order, the five working day refund and credit rule, the IPO Facilitation Account, the Roshan Digital Account process and the dividend tax rates. The prospectus records PSX approval on 7 September and SECP approval on 9 September 2026. We opened PSX's e-IPO System and its user manual for registration, payment, revoke, PIN reset and refund steps. The Rs 40 strike price and 1.6 times demand are reported by Dawn and Business Recorder on 23 September 2026; the published supplement was not available to us, so treat Rs 40 and the Rs 20,000 minimum as reported until you see it. CDC's cdcpakistan.com returned a 403 error to our check, and SECP's Jamapunji site did not resolve, so CES details come from the prospectus. This is not investment advice.