Proving insider trading difficult, time-taking task: SECP chairman 

e-user registration system launched

ISLAMABAD: Proving and establishing an insider trading is a difficult and time-taking task despite there is a complete surveillance department at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to monitor trading at stock exchange and check market manipulation, its chairman said on Thursday.  

“The SECP has to catch the fraudulent elements while safeguarding the investors’ interests and rights,” SECP chairman Zafar Hijazi said in a statement. “SECP efforts are aimed at preventing market abuses and manipulative practices, promoting public confidence in the market and establishing a robust compliance regime.” 

Hijazi, addressing a financial reporting workshop for economic journalists, said the commission has greatly improved risk management, transparency and governance of capital market as well as investor protection.

He said the SECP is implementing the capital market development plan (2016-18) with vigour and focus, “to provide a clear direction to the market.”  Usman Hayat, head of risk management department, advised individual investors to invest through mutual funds. 

Hayat said mutual funds are, “more secure and hassle-free.” Abid Hussain, head of supervision department spoke about supervision mechanism, offsite and onsite inspection of broker houses and compliance requirements of brokerage houses for financial reporting. 

SECP also launched a new user registration system under eServices program at the occasion, which would replace the cumbersome process of obtaining digital signatures from the National Institutional Facilitation Technologies.

The registration is required for online incorporation of new company and for signing of the documents to be submitted to the commission and the registrar concerned.  The new system will cut the incorporation cost to Rs100 from 1,500/user and reduce the turnaround time to minutes from days.

Hijazi said this will also be a one-time registration without any renewal and associated cost as is presently required on an annual basis. This facility will be an incentive for potential promoters of companies, and is likely to further propel corporate growth.

He said the draft Companies Bill 2017, already passed by the National Assembly and presently under consideration of the senate, will further encourage small businesses to adopt the corporate form of business organisation and contribute towards a healthy corporate sector’s growth.

The commission recorded 34 percent growth in registration by companies in the July-February period of 2016/17 over the corresponding period a year earlier.  The SECP has already established designated facilitation desks in companies’ registration offices (CROs) of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad for public facilitation. The commission has directed all the CROs to provide maximum facilitation to public with regards to incorporation of companies.

Incorporation fee for small companies, having authorised capital up to Rs100,000, has been substantially reduced and now a small company can be incorporated by just paying filing and incorporation fee of Rs2,000 in case of online filing and Rs4,000 in case of offline filing. 

The facility of fee payment, through bank transfer and credit cards, has also been provided apart from payment through conventional mode. In addition, free certified copies of incorporation documents at the time of incorporation of companies and subsequent filing of statutory returns are provided to reduce cost of doing business and to facilitate business community. CROs in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad operate on Saturdays exclusively for providing service to business companies/corporate sector.