A delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) headed by its Chairman Coordination Malik Sohail Hussain, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Chief Executive SM Muneer, and Vice President and Regional Chairman Mian Rehman Aziz visited the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and held meetings with the chairman and other senior SECP officials.
During the meeting, the FPCCI delegation was briefed on the functions and responsibilities of the SECP and its proactive role towards creation of a fair and efficient corporate sector, capital market and non-bank financial sector. During the briefing, key policy aspects for the development of non-bank financial sector and capital market were highlighted. The delegation appreciated the SECP’s reforms and initiatives.
The delegation was also informed about the efforts being made by the SECP in creating linkage between the commodity futures market and the real economy through development of commodities eco-system and new future contracts based on various commodities, especially agricultural ones. It was highlighted that the SECP was committed to bringing about reforms in agricultural commodity trading by encouraging traders to make use of the platform of Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited (PMEX) as a modernised route for buying and selling agricultural commodities in Pakistan. In this connection, an awareness campaigns and consultative sessions are also being held with key stakeholders to promote the use of PMEX platform so that all participants in the agricultural value chain benefit from this modern and efficient way of trading commodities.
The delegation was briefed on various measures in the pipeline to promote commodities futures market, including enhancement of product portfolio of PMEX; focus on agri-based commodities such as cotton, wheat, rice and sugar; efforts to expand the PMEX outreach in Punjab; formulation of warehouse receipt financing framework; and roll out of chilli product on a full scale.
The SECP officials also briefed the delegation on reforms introduced for the small and medium enterprises (SME) and relaxed regulatory requirements for the same to enable them to raise capital for meeting their business needs in a cost-effective manner through the capital market.
The FPCCI delegation appreciated the SECP’s efforts and reforms introduced for the development of non-bank financial sector and commodities and capital markets. The delegation assured the SECP of its full support, especially for the creation of commodity ecosystem and the warehousing project. The delegation also expressed its keen interest in the SECP’s efforts for incentivizing SMEs through listing on the SME board and praised the regulatory reforms introduced in this regard.
