Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Akif Saeed has stressed the importance of continuous engagement with market participants and resolved to provide the necessary support to capital market infrastructure institutions and relevant stakeholders for the progress and development of the capital market in Pakistan.
The chairman’s remarks came during a meeting held with the Executive Committee of the Pakistan Stock Brokers Association (PSBA) in Karachi wherein brokers welcomed the new chairman and submitted proposals to facilitate the brokerage industry by providing ease of doing business, necessary simplification of regulatory requirements, and elimination of duplication to reduce costs and improve efficiency. It was emphasized to utilize shared KYC mechanisms and digital onboarding facilities to increase the investor base in Pakistan.
During his visit, he also met with the management and Board of Directors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL). The chairman was accompanied by SECP Commissioner Abdul Rehman Warraich and the SECP team.
The chairman and his team were welcomed by the PSX MD & CEO Farrukh H. Khan, PSX Board Members, and PSX senior management. The objective of the meeting was to apprise the newly appointed chairman and the commissioner of the latest capital market developments, current progress, challenges, and to identify areas where focused efforts and cooperation of PSX, the front-line regulator, and SECP, the apex regulator, would be required.
The senior officials of SECP and PSX discussed measures for the growth of the capital market, encouraging new listings, enhancing the efficiency of the digital onboarding mechanism for investors, and benefiting from emerging financial technology.
The officials further discussed proposals for reforms in taxation and pension plans, product development, exchange-traded funds, derivatives market, and fixed-income products and the need for adequate training of staff of market intermediaries. Moreover, the possibility of listing CPEC projects at PSX was also deliberated upon.
In a subsequent meeting with the Board and senior management of NCCPL, the chairman and his team were briefed about the ongoing developments and future plans of NCCPL. Various measures were discussed for bringing reforms in risk management, Shariah-compliant leveraged market products, and government debt securities to promote the debt market in the country.
The chairman stressed upon joint efforts of frontline and apex regulators for investor education to increase investors’ footprints in the capital market.