Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Akif Saeed has said regulatory and structural reforms will be introduced along with product development to link Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) with the rural economy of Pakistan.
The chairman, accompanied by senior officials, met the Board of Directors and senior management of the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) and the senior management of the Central Depository Company (CDC).
Saeed reviewed the progress of new contracts on Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWR) and measures to promote trading activity at the PMEX. He said that PMEX can provide alternate avenues of liquidity to the producers and processors of agricultural commodities which will benefit the farmers and boost economic activity. He highlighted the need for increasing outreach and tapping the potential of remote areas by ensuring the presence of commodity brokers and developing warehouse infrastructure.
In a separate meeting with CDC, the chairman was briefed about the ongoing projects and future plans for the facilitation of investors of the capital market. The meeting reviewed digital solutions for investors of the capital market and the availability of National Saving Schemes certificates in book-entry form. Further, the operations and sustainability of EClear Services Limited, which provides clearing and custodial services to the Trading Only (TO) category of brokers as a subsidiary of CDC, were also deliberated.
Later, the SECP team led by its chairman held separate meetings with members of the Board of Directors of the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (MUFAP) and NBFI and Modaraba Association. The meeting with MUFAP reviewed the progress and timelines on the conversion of MUFAP into SRO and the digitalization of the AML/KYC requirements.
The SECP chairman stressed using digital technology for the growth of retail investors in mutual funds. He also stressed introducing new products, particularly for retail investors, increasing the digital onboarding of small investors.
The NBFI and Modaraba Association delegation was led by Basheer A. Chowdry who sought SECP’s support for the inclusion of the NBFI and Modaraba sectors in concessional schemes of the SBP for SME financing. The chairman assured its support, particularly for the promotion of Islamic finance through the Modaraba segment.
Source: Pro Pakistan