ISLAMABAD: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Friday disclosed that USD 13.3 billion was raised in primary auctions and USD 3.4 billion traded in the secondary market during December 2023 and November 2025.
The SECP has issued a white paper on the First International Capital Markets Conference (ICMC).
According to the SECP, the SECP Commissioner highlighted the major reforms under way to modernise Pakistan’s capital markets and strengthen long-term financial resilience. His remarks focused on three core areas: Exchange-based issuance and trading of government debt securities (GDS), expansion of the regulated contributory pension system, and transformation of agricultural markets through EWRs.
He noted that routing GDS issuance and trading through capital market institutions has improved transparency, competition, and efficiency. Through public auctions and continuous secondary-market trading, the market now offers multiple Sukuk instruments with varied tenors and structures. Between December 2023 and November 2025, USD 13.3 billion was raised in primary auctions and USD 3.4 billion traded in the secondary market.
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The structure, where the exchange manages trading and the clearing company acts as a central counterparty, and the depository maintains ownership records, has strengthened risk management and tax compliance.
On pensions, he outlined the shift from traditional defined-benefit schemes to defined-contribution models, in line with global trends. The regulated contributory pension system has expanded to 47 funds across 19 managers, with 110,000 individual accounts and USD 390 million in assets. Its design emphasises savings discipline, portability, transparency, and competition, delivering financial sustainability for employers while deepening Pakistan’s capital markets.
He also stressed the need to focus on agricultural market modernisation. He described a coordinated framework built on accredited storage, EWR bankability, and exchange-based commodity trading supported by regulators, clearing institutions, depositories, and provincial governments. The Punjab government’s program illustrates how subsidised storage and financing can incentivize farmers and traders to adopt formal market structures. These reforms, he stressed, align market institutions, regulators, and provincial governments toward inclusive growth, SECP white paper added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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