ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) will encourage listing of a company’s securities on an exchange through initial public offering (IPO), which means the first allocation of newly issued shares and debt to the public.
It is so as companies with good track record, credible sponsors, experienced management and operating in a strong industry can easily tap the capital markets for generating the resources required for growth.
Generally, such companies are welcomed by capital markets and maintain investor’s confidence.
For the last couple of years, SECP has assumed a more vigilant role and has also forced PSX to play its due role in promoting quality listings.
To promote ease of doing business, the SECP has also expedited its approval processing time and as a matter of fact, the SECP approved the last three IPO applications within five working days after receipt of complete applications. Being the frontline regulator, PSX has the prime responsibility to promote quality listing considering the interest of all the stakeholders including general public and the issuers.
In order to strengthen its approval process, the PSX has recently constituted a listing committee comprising of independent market participants, professionals with business background and members of its management.
After its constitution, the said PSX committee has approved first prospectus for listing of a company, which is one of those companies which participated in the interactive session organised jointly by PSX and the SECP.
It is imperative to encourage new quality listings to complement a sustainable growth being registered by our capital markets and to maintain investors’ confidence. Public offering process starts with the decision of the sponsors of the company to offer securities to the general public.
In this connection, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) jointly held various interactive sessions in different cities with the selected group of sponsors having high potential for listing.
