After withdrawal of powers from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to register international non-government organisations (INGOs), the commission has started process for the cancellation of non-compliant 23 out of total 33 registered INGOs.
Officials of the SECP informed media representatives on Thursday that a committee set up by the prime minister had taken powers from the SECP to register INGOs and granted it to the ministry of interior. However, the permission for operating in the country INGOs would be granted by the Economic Affairs Division.
All INGOs will have to seek registration from the ministry of interior and permission to operate from Economic Affairs Division. The SECP would have no role in registration of INGOs from now onwards, SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi said.
The SECP has approved action against 23 INGOs under section 439 which have failed to file their audited accounts despite notices. After revoking their licenses, the accounts of these INGOs will be frozen.
The INGOs included in the regulatory action are Al Ehya Trust, Albion Pakistan, American Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences, Association of National Development Finance Institutions in member countries of Islamic Development Bank, Cag Ogretim Isletmeleri, Education Development Center, Global Partner, Global Relief Foundation, Goal, HTSPE Limited, International Relief and Development, Overseas Development Corporation, Pinnacle Education Services, Registered Non Profit Organization JEN, Save the Children Japan, The British Council, International Development Organization, World Development Organization, War Child, World Education, Cooperative Housing Foundation, HMD International Response and Human Concern International.
The SECP officials said more than 100,000 NGOs were registered in the country and mainly in the provinces under cooperatives and provincial governments have to regulate them. They said the SECP had cancelled licenses of 208 local NGOs which did not present their documents to the commission.
SECP TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY IN STOCK MARKET
Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Zafar Hijazi said on Thursday that the commission had started implementing latest international securities regulations which would help Pakistan reenter the emerging market status leading to increase in portfolio and foreign direct investment.
He said this while briefing the media on the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) publication of the Assessment Committee’s review of SECP’s implementation of IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation (IOSCO Principles.
Pakistan is being considered as an emerging market and if the country gets an entry then it could get a share from $ 2 trillion investment marked by the global funds for the emerging markets. At present Pakistan is included in MSCI’s frontier markets which has a global investment portfolio of $ 300 billion.
This is the first country review conducted by IOSCO´s assessment committee, he said, adding that the review identifies SECP’s significant progress in meeting international regulatory standards and flags areas in which improvements were needed. Its conclusions indicate that Pakistan’s regulatory framework has undergone significant improvements in the structure and practice of regulation since 2004, when the International Monetary Fund and World Bank issued their last Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) evaluation of the country.
The IOSCO, he said, was now more focused on the implementations of standards, as 2008 global financial crisis forced the international body to focus more on implementation. The review assessed Pakistan against IOSCO principles and declared fully compliant on 13 principles, broadly compliant on 10 principles, partially compliant on nine principles, whereas only in case of five principles Pakistan remained non-compliant. Aggregately, Pakistan has succeeded in complying with about 62 percent of principles due to extremely dedicated efforts by the commission after its recent completion and its functioning at full strength.
Hijazi congratulated the team that represented Pakistan’s case before the assessment committee and the entire staff of the SECP on this accomplishment. It may be noted that previously similar exercise was carried by IMF/World Bank in 2004.
The IOSCO is the international forum for cooperation among securities market regulators and the global standard setter for securities market regulations. The IOSCO principles for securities regulation are the key global regulatory standards that benchmark the regulatory framework, practices and procedures implemented by the regulators, self-regulatory organisations and market intermediaries in a jurisdiction.