SECP taps top institutes to develop Islamic capital markets

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the top three centers of excellence in Islamic finance (CEIFs) for joint promotion and development of Islamic capital markets, a statement said on Friday.

The statement said the SECP inked the agreement of cooperation with Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) in a ceremony at the corporate regulator’s headquarters.

The SECP has taken many initiatives for capacity building and awareness creation in Islamic finance and has arranged a number of sessions in collaboration with leading universities and professional institutions, the statement said.

The regulator said considering the need for development of Islamic finance and to collaborate with leading centers of excellence in Islamic finance for their common goal, the SECP entered into an MoU whereby the parties agreed to make joint and collaborative efforts for promoting vibrant Islamic capital market.

The statement said the three CEIFs agreed to extend their efforts by joining forces with the SECP to achieve growth and development of Islamic capital market and shaping the future of Islamic financial services through creating awareness among the public, training for stakeholders and capacity building of Islamic financial institutions.

According to details, the MoU covers the areas of mutual collaboration in developing programs for training and education in Islamic finance, facilitating exchange of resources, relevant academic information, events calendar, materials, and technical expertise necessary for the development of training and education in Islamic finance.

Under the agreement, it said, the signatories would undertake joint research and development in priority areas of Islamic capital markets, and whenever appropriate, to publish, promote or disseminate works of research, develop content and reference material for practitioners and users of Islamic financial products and services.

They will also organise, conferences, workshops, symposiums, training programs, seminars or other events and to support activities held by each party relating to research and development, training and education in Islamic finance and Islamic capital markets, the statement said.

Islamic finance has witnessed a tremendous growth in the last few years. Being the apex regulator of capital market, the SECP has taken a number of initiatives for the promotion of Islamic finance.

It endeavors to achieve the highest standards in Islamic finance in building resilient and sustainable financial systems.

On November 2, 2018, the SECP notified its landmark Shariah Governance Regulations, 2018, a holistic Shariah governance framework for Shariah-compliant companies and securities.

To bring harmonisation and standardisation in the business practices of Islamic financial institutions, the SECP has been continually adopting more and more Shariah standards of Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and implemented standards of Islamic Financial Services Board.