SECP’s chief tenure extended for another 3 years

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday approved an extension in the tenure of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) chairman Aamir Khan for another three years.

This is a first in the history of the SECP that a sitting chairman has been awarded extension. Prime Minister Imran Khan first appointed Aamir Khan as commissioner SECP in December 2018, and was later elevated as chairman in August 2019.

Currently, there are three members of the commission including Aamir Khan, Farrukh Sabzwari, and Sadia Khan.

The commission is short of two members (commissioners). Finance division had advertised it, but so far nobody has been appointed to complete the commission. Besides, the government has not yet appointed the chairman of the SECP policy board.

Prime Minister advisor on finance and revenue, Shaukat Tarin apprised the federal cabinet on significant reforms featuring legal, structural, regulatory, operational and product development initiatives by the SECP in last three years, to further the government's vision of improving ease of doing business, expanding financial inclusion and digitizing corporate processes, develop capital market and strengthen enforcement of laws.

The SECP has achieved end-to-end digitalization of the company registration process, which has resulted in nearly 60 percent growth in the number of registered companies over the past three years, accumulating to 156,000 companies as of November 30, 2021 from 93,000 in December 2018.

SECP in collaboration with the PSX has introduced an alternative board, the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) to encourage smaller companies to list equity securities and avail the benefits of listing at the exchange. The first SME was successfully listed at the GEM Board last week.