ISLAMABAD: The Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued its annual report, covering performance and audited financial statements of the commission for the period from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.
SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi, about Commission’s performance, said that the SECP attributes as its achievements. He stated that he firmly believe that only a strong SECP operating in an independent environment can guarantee a stable capital market and thus contribute to the development of national economy.
He said that the agreement among the three stock exchanges to integrate to form one national level stock exchange is a very significant achievement having the potential to turnaround Pakistan’s capital market. He also noted the government’s decision to gradually reduce the corporate tax rate from 35% to 30% is bold and will have far reaching economic impacts.
The report details steps taken to enhance the regulatory enforcement capacity of the commission which had resulted in better monitoring of the capital market, non-banking financial companies, insurance and the overall corporate sector.
During the year, the SECP has made significant improvement with regard to compliance with the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) benchmark principles of securities regulation. The compliance rate has gone up from 37% in 2004 to 62% in 2015 and efforts are underway for achieving enhanced compliance with those principles, which are as yet not fully compliant.
Moreover, in pursuance of the government’s National Action Plan to end terrorism and to halt financing sources of terrorists, the SECP decided to revalidate the licenses of all non-profit organizations or NGOs registered with the SECP in order to ensure that no transgressions have taken place.
