KARACHI (November 17 2005): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) will develop codes of conduct for service providers in the capital market as well as the non-banking financial sector.
SECP Chairman Dr Tariq Hassan stated this at the first workshop, organised by Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) on 'Share Experience: Building an Effective Board', here on Wednesday.
Moreover, he said, the stock exchanges, particularly in the context of demutualization, should be no exception to these codes of conduct.
However, he said, the pressing issue these days, internationally as well as in Pakistan, is extension of the code to state-owned enterprises (SOE). “The SECP is closely co-ordinating with the Ministry of Finance to facilitate extension of the code of SOEs”, he added.
He underlined the need of good governance for development of a healthy and competitive corporate sector. “A strong corporate sector boost 'sustained' and 'share' economic growth”, he added.
Ensuring good corporate practices in corporates had been an area of focus for the SECP, he said. “Besides, we are also looking to engender good governance practices in all sectors under our purview as well as the professional services providers associated with them.”
He said that SECP was also initiating the promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Pakistan's corporate sector.
With the increasing consumer awareness and ever-enhancing market's sophistication, Tairq said, the demand for CSR was gaining momentum. “The corporate sector is also realising the importance of its roles and responsibilities towards good corporate citizenship,” he added.
In this regard, he pointed out the central role of the boards of directors to the corporate governance regime.
