Tag: Central Depository Company

KARACHI: Shaukat Tarin, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, on Friday inaugurated the first Professional Clearing Member (PCM) at CDC House, Karachi.

Speaking at the occasion, Shaukat Tarin said: “It is the top priority of our Government to facilitate businesses and improve ease of doing business environment.

“This initiative of Professional Clearing Member (PCM) is a very significant and timely initiative by SECP and very well executed by CDC. It is very important for our Capital market that we introduce such novel concepts which will bring more transparency and efficiency in our market.

“CDC has won the trust and confidence of the investors, Regulator and all stakeholders in the market with its efforts of market development and investor facilitation.

“The new PCM regime has been successfully implemented after the introduction of the relevant regulatory framework by SECP and capital market infrastructure entities, leading to the launch of EClear Services Limited (ESL) by i.e. CDC, PSX, NCCPL and Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company, with CDC playing the lead role of the project manager.”

Speaking at the occasion, the SECP Chairman, Aamir Khan said that “The PCM regime shall address two longstanding issues: risk of custody defaults by transferring custody to the PCM, and expanding the retail investor base by empowering small brokers.”

Tariq Rafi, member of CDC’s Board of Directors, welcomed Tarin and others guests after which Chairman CDC Moin Fudda addressed the audience. CEO CDC Badiuddin Akber presented a brief presentation to the audience explaining the working and benefits of the Professional Clearing Member.

He mentioned: “The solution will provide investors with a completely new and digital experience of Pakistan’s capital market while giving them the confidence of asset protection by a reliable and independent third party service provider.”

The event was well attended by Capital market representatives including Chairperson PSX – Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and CEO PSX – Farrukh Khan.

SEC Pakistan amends regulations to facilitate startups

KARACHI: Central Depository Company (CDC) has successfully processed the Cash dividend of “Pak Datacom Limited” through State Bank’s RAAST payment gateway, a statement said on Wednesday.

It is indeed a moment to celebrate for both CDC and Pak Datacom Limited as both the companies were the first entities to utilize the services of Pakistan’s new and fastest payment gateway of RAAST (inaugurated by honorable Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, Jan 11, 2021).

CDC is working with SBP on this project for the last 1 year to make this possible. CDC is now connected with all major banks on RAAST, and will process all dividend payments more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Speaking at the occasion CEO CDC, Badiuddin Akbar, said: “It is indeed a landmark achievement that Raast has now been launched and operational with CDC on-board for the processing of all Dividend Disbursement transactions which will extend valuable process improvements in terms of transparency, security, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

“We are confident that with the help of Raast, there would be a complete transformation of the payment landscape of Pakistan.”

CDC is thankful to SBP and SECP for their continued support and patronage in achieving yet another milestone in its market transformation journey. CDC is already processing thousands of transactions related to Roshan Digital Accounts in Stock Exchange, where again SBP placed its trust on CDC to act as the bridge between Banks and Capital market entities and to become the gateway for non-residents Pakistanis to invest in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Around 2000 Roshan Digital Account holders are efficiently investing in PSX with an estimated worth of around Rs375 million (around USD 2.5 million) through this arrangement facilitated by CDC.

KARACHI: Central Depository Company (CDC) of Pakistan Limited, through its subsidiary ITMinds Limited, has launched the pilot version of a digital platform for the support of the Mutual Fund industry, a statement said on Friday.

This platform, named as “Emlaak Financials”, will function as a digital distribution channel initially for Mutual Funds and later on for other asset classes also.

In the first phase, ‘Emlaak Financials’ will provide a low-cost and centralized solution to investors, initially through covering low-risk investors, but will soon be expanded to a full-fledged distribution mechanism for all types of investors.

The pilot project has been launched with five Asset Management Companies (AMCs); however, soon more AMCs will be on-boarded on the platform. The launch of the pilot project has been officially announced and formalized in an Agreement Signing ceremony at the CDC House, Karachi. Farrukh Sabzwari—Commissioner Specialized Companies Division (SCD) SECP presided the event.

While addressing the occasion, Farrukh Sabzwari—Commissioner SCD SECP said, “It is indeed a very important milestone for the Mutual Fund Industry as it embarks on this consolidated digital distribution channel launched for the first time in Pakistan.

“We, at SECP, are strong proponents of re-engineering processes for promoting efficiency and transparency through digitalization and will continue to support and encourage all such initiatives by providing all the required Regulatory assistance in this regard. Pakistan’s mutual fund segment stands at a meager 1.6 percent of the GDP, which is very low compared to the market’s potential.

“A major obstacle in moving the needle has been limited outreach and focus on specific market segments. The pivotal role of innovation in economic development is undeniable, and I congratulate CDC on coming up with this innovative solution for the Mutual Fund Industry which will lead to higher productivity, reduced turnaround times, lower costs and wider outreach.”

At the occasion, describing the objectives of the platform, Badiuddin Akber—CEO CDC said, “After the successful integration of Roshan Digital Accounts with Capital market, CDC is now launching this new FinTech solution which aims to pave the way for the growth of the Mutual Fund Industry and for promoting financial inclusion in Pakistan at the grass-root level.

“CDC is committed to provide innovative tech-based platforms to Capital Market entities through which they can leverage CDC’s technological edge to enhance their investor outreach in a convenient, informative and interactive manner.”

The event was also attended by representatives of the participating AMCs and CEO MUFAP, Ms. Mashmooma Majeed, who lauded CDC’s efforts in undertaking this initiative and playing its role for the development of the mutual fund industry.

KARACHI: Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) to facilitate investment by Non-Resident Pakistanis in the Pakistan Stock Market through Roshan Digital Account with designated large-scale banks, said Badiuddin Akber, CEO-CDC.

In a statement he further stated that Roshan Digital Account is a remarkable step taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to facilitate overseas Pakistanis.

Similarly, allowing NRPs to invest in Stock Market through Roshan Digital Account is a further facilitation for NRPs which is the result of SECP’s vision to create ease of doing business for investors.

He applauded the collaborative efforts of both SECP and SBP through which this important milestone was achieved.

Through this initiative, NRPs desirous of investing in the Stock Market of Pakistan will be able to do so through an efficient, secure and convenient mechanism.

Since there is no additional requirement other than having a Roshan Digital Account for NRP to start investing in Stock market, they just need to provide consent to their respective Bank to link them with CDC.

Within the next 24 hours, they will be able to trade without the need of any further documents or information as CDC is going to act as the information hub, connecting stock market with the banks.

CDC is working on this project zealously with SBP designated banks. The service will be available to NRPs with the availability of the Roshan Digital Account, which is scheduled to be launched very soon.

KARACHI: A delegation from British Deputy High Commission, Karachi visited the Central Depository Company (CDC), a statement said on Monday.

The delegation was headed by Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi. Representatives of leading Pakistani corporate units and UK businesses in Pakistan attended this event.

British Deputy High Commissioner, Mike Nithavrianakis spoke about the untapped potential Pakistan has to offer and how the landscape of UK Business in Pakistan needs to expand and grow.

Mike Nithavrianakis said: “Although I am the Deputy High Commissioner with responsibility for Sindh and Balochistan, a more prominent part of my role is being the director of trade.

“We feel that diplomatically, in a country like Pakistan, where significant improvements in the security situation are changing perceptions, we need to shift the conversation towards mutual prosperity and increased trade investment.”

He lauded CDC on its achievements in transforming the Pakistani Capital Market and highlighted the improvement of Pakistan’s ranking to 28 places in the area of Ease of Doing Business, according to the World Bank Index.

Earlier in his welcome address Moin M. Fudda, Chairman CDC Board of Directors spoke briefly about the long term friendly relations between UK and Pakistan while stressing on the need to foster greater ties on economic, business and other fronts.

Badiuddin Akber, CEO-CDC, gave a presentation on the Pakistan Capital Market landscape and CDC’s key role in its development.