ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, National Clearing Company and Central Depository Company sat together on Friday to review and discuss the stock market situation, risk management and continuity of ordinary business.
The meeting was held after the index-based market halts were triggered for the third time during this week, said a press release by the regulator.
This cooling-off period gave an opportunity to investors to align their trading strategy and collection of margins by the Clearing Company, the release further said.
The participants of the meeting affirmed that risk management system was functioning efficiently, and margins were being collected timely. The market operations were running smoothly as a whole.
The CEOs further apprised that their business continuity plans, and disaster recovery setup was in place based on the SECP’s earlier instructions.
The SECP chairman emphasized on conducting drills to ensure remote operations of trading, clearing, settlement and custody services while allowing remote access of market participants to such systems in case on-site operations or physical access was impacted. He also suggested adoption of further preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus.
The SECP advised the CEOs to remain vigilant, continue to provide uninterrupted access to market participants and ensure effective risk management while maintaining actively engagement with their boards of directors and committees for close coordination.
