ISLAMABAD – The Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday directed the ministry of finance to furnish it with complete details of candidates and the procedure adopted for the appointment of the chairman and commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
The meeting of the committee was held under the chairmanship of Senator Ahmad Ali.
Secretary Finance Waqar Masood Khan said that the prime minister had appointed the Chairman while no commissioners have been appointed. The committee wanted to know if standard procedure was followed or not, asking the SECP to consult all stakeholders before finalizing the changes in the Code of Corporate Governance (CCG) 2002. Chairman SECP Muhammad Ali Ghulam Muhammad said corporate governance was imperative to ensure transparency and accountability and to safeguard the interest of all stakeholders and it will attract foreign investment.
He said the review of the code was initiated because of the lessons learnt from practical issues and considerations.
SECP released the revised draft of the code for public consultation in October 2010. Some of the important amendments include representation of independent and executive directors, roles of chairman and CEO, number of total directorships in listed companies held by an individual, self-evaluation of the boards, directors’ education, training and remuneration, additional committees of the board.
Senators inquired about the rationale behind the introducing revised code. Senator Haroon Akhtar asked to specify problems associated with the existing code on corporate governance. He said that the chambers and federations should be included in the consultative process before finalization of the code. Senator Ishaq Dar said SECP should consult the professional bodies of chartered accountants for obtaining comments on the proposed amendments in the code.
Chairman SECP said consultation process from stakeholders to reform the code had received substantive feedback. He assured SECP would undertake another round of consultations with major stakeholders on the final revised code. The Senate committee will also be briefed on it before it is implemented, he said.
