As part of its mandate to provide for increased investor protection and nurture a more informed and vigilant investors’ community, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved the waiver of monthly subscription fee for short messaging service (SMS) alert facility provided to investor account holders by the Central Depository Company (CDC). This facility gives investors an added level of convenience by providing account information via cell phones through SMS alerts. Alerts about activities such as transfer of securities, credit of corporate entitlements, pledge transactions, listing/delisting of securities in the Central Depository System etc., are provided. The SMS Alert Facility at CDC complements the Unique Identification Number (UIN) Information System being offered by the National Clearing Company which provides investors with a real-time access to monitor their trading activities executed through their UINs. These reform measures will a...

The Board of Directors of Karachi Stock Exchange, in its meeting held on May 31, 2011, focused extensively on resolving difficulties for investors on the one hand and strengthening the Exchange’s risk management aspects to provide confidence to market participants. Besides this, in order to enhance product attractiveness, several initiatives under development were discussed, including Option trading. The Board also emphasized on informational security and level playing field for all investors. In addition, following market related decisions were taken: 1. Approval was accorded to TOR of following Committees: i. Development & Trading Affairs Committee ii. Voluntary Delisting Committee 2. Approval of following regulatory amendments, subject to approval of SECP: i. Regulations Governing Risk Management to allow placing of circuit breakers on 1st Trading Day of unpaid Right Allotment Letter and newly listed securities on Ready Market. ii. Regulations for Short Selling to allow short s...

ISLAMABAD- February 18: The federal government has accorded its approval for promulgation of the Securities (Leveraged Markets and Pledging) Rules, 2011, which have been notified by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in the official gazette. While realizing the significance of liquidity in trading for a vibrant stock market, last year the SECP had drafted these rules after detailed consultations with the relevant stakeholders including the State Bank of Pakistan, Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan, Pakistan Banks Association, Leasing Association of Pakistan, Modaraba Association of Pakistan, the three stock exchanges, the National Clearing Company and the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited. The rules have been developed considering best international practices and provide a regulatory framework for Margin Financing, Margin Trading, Securities Lending and Borrowing and Pledging of clients’ securities. The promulgation of these rules is not only exp...

ISLAMABAD, December13: In line with its efforts to promote greater reliability, efficiency and transparency in the capital market operations, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved the project of ‘Automation of Securities Settlement’, at the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC), which will be effective on December 20. The project has been finalised in collaboration with the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) and the three Stock Exchanges. The CDC will automate the mechanism for settlement of book-entry securities at the CDC through straight-through processing solution while eliminating the need for any manual intervention. The said mechanism will allow securities to be automatically transferred from the respective sellers’ account to the respective buyers’ account instead of being routed through the member’s main account. The new system while establishing a link between the National Clearing and Settlement System and ...