Message from Chairman (SECP)

I am immensely pleased to learn about the holding of sixth Pakistan IPO Summit, 2016 by the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) in partnership with the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
The Summit is aimed at assisting the potential IPO companies to meet their objective of raising funds from the general public for their future growth strategy and to enable them to learn about steps in bringing their companies to the capital market. This will be, in the long run, to the benefit of our domestic capital markets which will ultimately lead to enhanced economic growth of the country. The interaction between potential IPO companies, the Consultants to the Issues, the IPO Underwriters, Bankers, market players, Corporate Governance experts, PSX and regulators will help in meeting this objective. The continued endeavour on the part of SAFE since 2011 in this context is really commendable.
As the apex regulator of the capital market, the SECP has already made a number of changes in its regulatory framework to stimulate listings as well as to make the listing process more efficient. These changes include review of the entire regulatory framework relating to public offering; introduction of book building process; and development of separate board at PSX for listing and trading of small and medium enterprises. Through the recent revamping of the said regulatory framework, number of the related rule/regulations/guidelines has been reduced from ten to just two and the time period for credit/dispatch of securities has been reduced from 30 days to 10 days. Further, efforts are underway for increasing outreach of the capital market through investor education, extensive marketing and employing innovative ideas such as creation of capital market business hubs which will make all capital market products available under one umbrella.
The SECP will continue to make efforts to promote a culture of corporatization and facilitate companies that aspire to become listed in the future. Listing has diverse benefits like tapping additional avenue for fund raising; improvement in the company's credentials; liquidity; attracting institutional and professional investors as business partners; enhanced contribution in the economic development of the country and the capital market.
The SECP's association with the Summit as the Principal Patron demonstrates its untiring support to SAFE, PSX and other institutions in promoting new listings for the betterment of our market and the economy. I would urge all the institutions to join hands with SAFE for the success of this endeavour. I hope the efforts to list more companies will result in a healthier capital market and a stronger economy. At the end, I would like to appreciate the efforts of SAFE and its constituent members for holding this Summit. I wish the Summit a complete success.