The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) ( ur, ) is the financial regulatory agency in Pakistan whose objective is to develop a modern and efficient corporate sector and a

capital market A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers t ...

based on sound authority principles, in order to encourage investment and foster

economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...

and prosperity in Pakistan. 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 (CEO). The Chairman is assisted by four Commissioners to oversee the working of various operational units as may be determined by him. The SECP has nine company registration offices located at in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, Sukkur, Faisalabad,

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

and

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

History

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is the successor to the erstwhile Corporate Law Authority (CLA), 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 Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

(ADB). 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 Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

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, insurance companies, corporate secretaries and others.

Divisions

The SECP is divided into the following divisions: * Adjudication Division * Company Law Division * Insurance Division * Legal Affairs Division * Securities Market Division * Specialized Companies Division * Supervision Division * Support Services Division

References

External links

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan WebsiteSECP Corporate Laws
{{DEFAULTSORT:Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Financial regulatory authorities of Pakistan Securities and exchange commissions 1999 establishments in Pakistan Government agencies established in 1999

History

Divisions

See also

References

External links