SECP releases annual report

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Wednesday released its annual report for fiscal year 2022-23, highlighting its accomplishments and financial accounts.

The report showed that the SECP focused on fostering capital formation, simplifying procedures, robust enforcement and facilitative measures aimed at ease of doing business in Pakistan.

SECP Chairman Akif Saeed expressed satisfaction with the SECP's performance and said that the regulator's core objective was to ensure transparency and fair conduct within regulated sectors.

"The modification and amendments to the regulatory framework were instrumental in boosting stakeholder confidence and mitigating instances of financial misconduct," he said in his message.

The report revealed that the SECP placed specific emphasis on addressing complaints and regulatory gaps associated with digital lending apps, which resulted in the shutdown of illegal loan apps in collaboration with Google, PTA, and FIA.

The SECP also implemented digital lending standards for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) and revitalized its investor education program 'Jamapunji' to raise awareness among the public about their rights as financial consumers.

The SECP introduced a new trading and surveillance system at PSX, which improved trade processing speed and managed high volumes. The SECP also introduced a regulatory framework for online-only securities brokers and approved a regulatory framework for Centralised Gateway Portal (CGP) to streamline the KYC requirements across various asset classes and improve the digital onboarding process.

The report showed that the SECP's efforts in increasing incorporation, facilitation, automation and optimizing processes, resulted in favorable expansion in company registrations.

A total of 27,746 new companies were registered in the year, elevating the overall number of registered companies to 196,805 by June 30, 2023.

The report also highlighted the growth of the NBFC sector, which witnessed a substantial 35.9 percent growth in assets during the year, and the insurance sector, which experienced a 34 percent rise in revenue, primarily attributed to policy reforms aimed at enhancing policyholder protection.