How PSX IPOs work — and how to track yours in Equivest

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A Pakistani company going public on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) almost always means one of two flavours of IPO. Once you know the flavour, the calendar makes sense.

The two flavours

Book-building

The bank running the issue announces a price band (e.g. Rs 28 – 34). Institutional bidders place bids inside the band. The strike price is set at the lowest price at which the full institutional tranche clears. Retail then subscribes at that strike (or lower if the issuer chooses).

You’ll see this on most IPOs above a certain size. Look for a band like “Rs 45 – 52”.

Fixed-price

The issuer announces a single price up front (e.g. Rs 18). Everyone subscribes at that price. Used for smaller / less complex offerings.

You’ll see this on tighter listings. Look for a single number with no band.

The states an IPO goes through

Upcoming — announced, but subscription isn’t open yet. You can read the prospectus.
Subscription open — usually 3 days. Bid through your broker.
Closed, awaiting listing — bids in, allocations being finalised. Some IPOs prorate retail allocations if oversubscribed.
Listed — symbol starts trading on PSX. First-day moves can be sharp.

Lot sizes, and the minimum application

Two different numbers, and they are easy to confuse.

Trading on PSX after listing: one share. PSX moved every Regular (Ready) market symbol to a one-share marketable lot, rolled out in weekly batches from 22 April 2024 and finished that July. The old 20 / 50 / 100 / 500-share lots are gone, and converted symbols were dropped from the Odd Lot market at the same time, because there is no longer an odd lot to sell at a discount. You can buy a single share. The equity ETFs are the exception and still trade in larger lots.

Applying for an IPO: whatever the prospectus says. The offering document sets its own minimum application, and 500 shares is a common one — which is where the old “lot size of 500” came from. The IPO card in Equivest shows the figure for that issue.

If an issue’s minimum application is 500 shares at Rs 34, two applications commit 2 × 500 × 34 = Rs 34,000.

How Equivest helps

We are not a broker. We do not place orders. What we do:

Show you a live calendar of PSX IPOs split into UPCOMING / ACTIVE / LISTED tabs.
Let you record your bid (lots + price) once you’ve placed the order through your broker — so you can revisit the prospectus, see committed Rs, and (post-listing, in the next release) auto-compute listing-day P&L.
Surface a Home-screen reminder when an IPO opens within 7 days, so you don’t miss the window.

Open the tracker

Settings → MARKETS → IPO tracker. The hub auto-opens on whichever tab has fresh content.

Privacy

Subscriptions are stored on-device only. Equivest never transmits your bids anywhere — they’re notes, not orders.

Quick FAQ

What if my retail allocation is prorated? PSX retail tranches sometimes prorate at allotment. The current iteration records your bid; an upcoming iteration will let you adjust to your received allocation post-listing.

Can I track my listing-day gain? Not yet. Once the symbol lists and we have a live price, that’ll auto-compute. Coming in a near-term release.

Where does Equivest get the IPO calendar? Today it’s curated client-side because PSX has no public IPO API. We’re working on a backend feed.

Equivest does not provide investment advice or place orders. Always read the prospectus and consult your broker.