SECP explains regulatory role in real estate

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) Thursday denied a statement of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) about the commission’s role proposed in the draft Companies Bill for regulating the real estate sector.

“The statement is completely misplaced,” an SECP statement said Thursday.  

The SECP does not in any manner intends to regulate the business of real estate per se, but its focus is to ensure that the companies registered with the SECP, having real estate as their principal line of business, operate under certain rules and regulations to gain public confidence.  The SECP would like to clarify that the provision relating to companies’ real estate projects in the draft Companies Bill, 2016, was restricted to the companies which run real estate as their principal business after obtaining the necessary NOC from the relevant local authorities.

It was conceived that the prospective investor would be encouraged to invest in real estate projects initiated by a company which have transparent financial records. The purpose of the proposed bill was mainly to ensure clean business activities by the companies in the real estate sector, so that investor interests were protected and they did not suffer in any way.