National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): A delegation of Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) has visited Securities
Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and appreciated its reforms
and initiatives.
The delegation headed by Chairman Coordination, Malik Sohail
Hussain, Chief Executive, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan,
S.M. Muneer, and Vice President and Regional Chairman, Mian Rehman
Aziz, visited the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
(SECP) and held meetings with the Chairman and other senior SECP
officials.
During the meetings, the FPCCI delegation was briefed on the
functions and responsibilities of the SECP and its proactive role
towards creation of a fair and efficient corporate sector, capital
market and non-bank financial sector.
During the briefing, key policy aspects for the development of
non-bank financial sector and capital market were highlighted.
The delegation was also informed about the efforts being made
by the SECP in creating linkage between the commodity futures market
and the real economy through development of commodities eco-system
and new futures contracts based on various commodities, especially
agricultural commodities.
It was highlighted that the SECP was committed to bringing
about reforms in agricultural commodity trading by encouraging
traders to make use of the platform of Pakistan Mercantile Exchange
Limited (PMEX) as a modernized route for buying and selling
agricultural commodities in Pakistan.
In this connection, awareness campaigns and consultative
sessions are being held with key stakeholders to promote the use of
PMEX platform so that all participants in the agricultural value
chain benefit from this modern and efficient way of trading
commodities.
The delegation was briefed on various measures in the pipeline
to promote commodities futures market, including enhancement of
product portfolio of PMEX; focus on agri-based commodities such as
cotton, wheat, rice and sugar; efforts to expand the PMEX outreach
in Punjab; formulation of warehouse receipt financing framework; and
roll out of chilli product on a full scale, said a press statement
issued here on Friday.
The SECP officials also briefed the delegation on reforms
introduced for the small and medium enterprises (SME) and relaxed
regulatory requirements for the same to enable them to raise capital
for meeting their business needs in a cost-effective manner through
the capital market.
The FPCCI delegation appreciated the SECP’s efforts and
reforms introduced for the development of non-bank financial sector,
commodities and capital markets.
The delegation assured the SECP of its full support especially
for the creation of the commodity ecosystem and the warehousing
project.
The delegation also expressed its keen interest in the SECP’s
efforts for incentivizing SMEs through listing on the SME board and
praised the regulatory reforms introduced in this regard.