ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has released its annual report for fiscal year 2022-23, which details its accomplishments and financial accounts. Chairman, Akif Saeed expressed satisfaction with the SECP’s focus on fostering capital formation, simplifying procedures, robust enforcement and facilitative measures aimed at ease of doing business in Pakistan.
In his message, the Chairman emphasized SECP’s core objective of ensuring transparency and fair conduct within regulated sectors. The modification and amendments to the regulatory framework were instrumental in boosting stakeholder confidence and mitigating instances of financial misconduct.
In the current year, SECP placed specific emphasis on addressing complaints and regulatory gaps associated with digital lending apps. Successful collaborations of SECP with Google, PTA, and FIA resulted in the shutdown of illegal loan apps. Further, digital lending standards were also implemented to uphold fair business practices for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC). Additionally, SECP revitalized its investor education program ‘Jamapunji’ to raise awareness among the public about their rights as financial consumers.
The introduction of a new trading and surveillance system at PSX, with the goal of improving trade processing speed and managing high volumes, is a significant achievement poised to facilitate investment and introduction of new derivative products. A regulatory framework for online-only securities brokers was also introduced, allowing brokers to focus more on customer onboarding and trading. Further, the regulatory framework for Centralised Gateway Portal (CGP) is approved to streamline the KYC requirements across various asset classes and improve the digital onboarding process. The development and implementation of CGP has been entrusted to the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC).
The SECP’s efforts in increasing incorporation, facilitation, automation and optimizing processes, have resulted in favorable expansion in company registrations. In the year, a total of 27,746 new companies were registered, elevating the overall number of registered companies to 196,805 by June 30, 2023. The NBFC sector also witnessed a substantial 35.9% growth in assets during the year, while the insurance sector experienced a 34% rise in revenue, primarily attributed to policy reforms aimed at enhancing policyholder protection.
Akif acknowledged the commendable achievements within all regulated sectors in the year 2022–23. Moving forward, SECP remains committed towards concentrated efforts to achieve tangible outcomes in all priority areas in the coming year. The report is available at https://www.secp.gov.pk/document/annual-report-2023/?wpdmdl=50006&refresh=657044ee094ee1701856494