12-member working group formed to address high costs, delays, and regulatory hurdles in corporate debt issuance.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s securities regulator has formed a working group to overhaul the country’s corporate debt market, citing lengthy issuance timelines and high costs as key barriers to its growth.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, or SECP, announced the 12-member panel in a notice dated July 30. The regulator said feedback from market participants pointed to slow approval processes and steep expenses whether debt is issued through private placements or public offerings as the main obstacles to developing the market.
The working group will be chaired by Muhammad Ali Farid Khwaja, a commissioner at SECP. Other members include Farrukh H. Sabzwari, chief executive of the Pakistan Stock Exchange; Maheen Rehman, chief executive of InfraZamin Pakistan; and Badiuddin Akbar, chief executive of the Central Depository Company.
The panel also includes representatives from Askari Bank, PACRA Credit Rating Agency and the law firm Mohsin Tayebaly & Co., along with Muhammad Khaliq-uz-Zaman of the Debt Management Office at the Ministry of Finance. Imran Inayat Butt, an executive director at SECP, will serve as coordinator.
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According to the SECP notice, the group’s mandate covers three broad areas. It will review the credit rating framework to improve efficiency and transparency, examine the end-to-end debt issuance process to identify regulatory and operational bottlenecks, and assess the Shariah and legal framework governing sukuk issuances.
The panel has also been tasked with reviewing the full cost of issuing corporate debt including regulatory fees, professional charges, listing expenses and taxation and recommending ways to reduce those costs. It will additionally draft standardized documentation, propose regulatory amendments where needed, and benchmark Pakistan’s framework against international best practices.
The working group may co-opt additional experts or institutions as needed, SECP said. It has been given 45 days from its formation to submit a report.
The notice was signed by Musarat Jabeen, executive director of the Corporate Supervision/Securities Market Division at SECP.
