Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan


The Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan is the financial regulatory agency in Pakistan whose objective is to develop a modern and efficient corporate sector and a capital market based on sound authority principles, in order to encourage investment and foster economic growth and prosperity in Pakistan.

History

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is the successor to the erstwhile Corporate Law Authority, which was an attached department of the Ministry of Finance. The process of the CLA's restructuring was started in 1997 under the Capital Market Development Plan of the Asian Development Bank. The parliament passed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, which was promulgated in December 1997. Consequently, the SECP, having an autonomous status, became operational on January 1, 1999. The Act gave the organization the administrative authority and financial autonomy to carry out the reform program for Pakistan’s capital market.
The scope of the authority of the SECP has been gradually widened. The insurance sector, non-banking financial companies, and pension funds have been added to the purview of the SECP. Now the SECP's mandate includes investment financial services, leasing companies, housing finance services, venture capital investment, discounting services, investment advisory services, real estate investment trust and asset management services, etc. The SECP also regulates various external service providers that are linked to the corporate sector, like chartered accountants, rating agencies, corporate secretaries and others.
Secp has the responsibility to make shure the accuracy of organizations or corporations under the law of Pakistan.

Organization

The SECP is a collegiate body with collective responsibility. The operational and executive authority of the SECP is vested in the Chairman who is the SECP's chief executive officer. At present, he is assisted by four Commissioners to oversee the working of various operational units as may be determined by him.
The SECP is divided into the following divisions:
The SECP's head office is located in the NIC Building on Jinnah Avenue in the Blue Area of Islamabad, Pakistan's federal capital. It also has regional offices called company registration offices in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Sukkur, Faisalabad, Quetta and Gilgit-Baltistan.