LAHORE – The Lahore Stock Exchange has become the first corporate entity in Pakistan to adopt the Voluntary Competition Compliance Code of the Competition Commission of Pakistan. The decision to adopt the code was taken by the LSE Board of Directors at the Board meeting yesterday in which the Chairperson of the Commission Rahat Kaunan Hassan was especially invited to address the members about various aspects of the code.
With the adoption of the code, LSE has taken a step forward to voluntarily ensure its regular compliance with the competition laws in Pakistan. The LSE Chairman Arif Saeed said that LSE already has the distinction of voluntarily adopting the code of corporate governance and the decision to adopt the Competition Compliance Code is a step further to position LSE as responsible corporate citizen. The chairperson of the Commission stated that competition creates a level playing field for all stakeholders and ends exploitation by ensuring a healthy competitive environment. She said that the purpose of drafting the voluntary code was to enable the companies to monitor and follow their compliance with the competition laws under their own initiative which is seen as very healthy to create a culture of compliance in the country. Before the approval to adopt the Voluntary Competition Compliance Code (VCC Code), a team of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) briefed the Board of Directors of the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE). The CCP officials in their presentation explained the purpose of developing the VCC Code which is to increase awareness amongst business undertakings and their employees about compliance with Competition Act, 2010. The presentation also highlighted the benefits derived by undertakings in the form of early detection, opportunity to avail lenient treatment, reduction in potential litigation costs and enhancement in public perception of an undertaking as a consumer friendly entity, committed to business ethics and social responsibility.
