ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has reported a significant increase in company registrations, bringing the total to 137,054 by the end of February 2021, according to a recent statement.
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SECP proposes making payment of cash dividends in three days
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Tuesday proposed to reduce time limit to three days for making payment of cash dividends.
The SECP issued SRO 229(I)/2021 dated February 18, 2021 to introduce draft amendment in the Companies (Distribution of Dividends) Regulations, 2017.
According to the draft an amendment has been proposed to Regulation 3 of the Companies (Distribution of Dividends) Regulations, 2017. Following amendment has been proposed as:
“Period for making payment of dividends: Subjection to Section 243 of the Act, the chief executive officer of every company is responsible to make the payment of cash dividend, within a period of three working days from the date of its approval by the:
(i) shareholders in general meeting, in case of final dividend; and
(ii) board, in case of interim dividend.”
At present the chief executive officer of every company is responsible to make the payment of cash dividend within a period of fifteen working days from the date of its declaration.
The SECP invited comments from stakeholders on the draft amendment to be submitted within 14 days of the date of the SRO.
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Portal launched for expeditious corporate bank account opening
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has launched a portal for expeditious bank account opening for newly registered companies, a statement said on Wednesday.
The online portal provides banks real time access to statutory records of companies, thus enabling them to open corporate accounts without seeking physically certified copies of statutory documents, it added.
Through this portal, the banks can access and verify company information directly from SECP’s records. The online availability of statutory records will reduce the turn-around-time for opening of corporate bank account or for availing other banking services. On the other hand, it will facilitate banks in carrying out due diligence of their corporate customers, for account opening and other services.
Any bank can access the portal by applying to the SECP for creating their user accounts. Initially, this facility is being launched for private limited, public limited and companies formed for not-for-profit objects. In due course, data of foreign companies and limited liability partnerships will also be linked and made available.
The SECP is planning to discontinue issuance of certified true copies in physical form and consequently, banks will only be able to access SECP’s records through this portal.
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SECP issues list of approved CA firms for audit of insurance companies
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Tuesday issued a list of chartered accountant (CA) firms to conduct audit of insurance companies.
Following is the list of approved auditors to conduct audit of insurance, re-insurance and Takaful entities:
Category ‘A’ Firms:
01. A. F. Ferguson & Co. Chartered Accountants
02. Grant Thornton Anjum Rahman, Chartered Accountants
03. RSM Avais Hyder Liaquat Nauman, Chartered Accountants
04. BDO Ebrahim & Co., Chartered Accountants
05. EY Ford Rhodes, Chartered Accountants
06. Kreston Hyder Bhimji & Co., Chartered Accountants
07. Ilyas Saeed & Co., Chartered Accountants
08. KPMG Taseer hadi & Co., Chartered Accountants
09. Deloitte Yousuf Adil, Chartered Accountants
10. Rahman Sarfaraze Rahim Iqbal Rafiq, Chartered Accountants
11. Riaz Ahmed & Co., Chartered Accountants
12. Crow Hussain Chaudhury & Co., Chartered Accountants
Category ‘B’ Firms:
01. Baker Tilly Mehmood Idrees Qamar, Chartered Accountants
02. PKF F.R.A.N.T.S., Chartered Accountants
03. ShineWing Hameed Chaudhri & Co., Chartered Accountants
04. Muniff Ziauddin & Co., Chartered Accountants
05. Naveed Zafar Ashfaq Jaffery & Co., Chartered Accountants
06. Parker Randall – A.J.S., Chartered Accountants
07. S.M. Suhail & Co., Chartered Accountants
08. Amin Mudassar & Co., Chartered Accountants
09. Raenda Haroon Zakaria & Co., Chartered Accountants
10. Junaid Shoaib Asad, Chartered Accountants
11. Sarwars, Chartered Accountants
12. IECnet S.K.S.S.S., Chartered Accountants
13. H.A.M.D & Co., Chartered Accountants
The SECP said that audit firms in category A are eligible to conduct audit of all insurance, re-insurance and Takaful entities.
The audit firms in category B are eligible to conduct audit of all insurance, re-insurance and Takaful entities having gross written premium and total assets less than Rs 1 billion as per the financial statements in the immediate preceding year.
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AMCs allowed pension digital account opening
In a move towards enhancing accessibility and efficiency in the financial sector, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) of Pakistan has given its approval for Asset Management Companies (AMCs) to open digital pension accounts.
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SECP’s total company registration increases to 134,797
ISLAMABAD – The company registration by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recorded a significant milestone in January 2021 with the registration of 2,201 new companies, bringing the total number of registered entities in the country to 134,797, according to an official statement released on Monday.
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Customers due diligence made mandatory for securities brokers, others
ISLAMABAD: It is made mandatory for regulated persons for conduct customers due diligence (CDD) of their customers/occasional customers under Anti-Money Launder Act.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) issued directives through SRO 105(I)/2021 related to customers due diligence.
The regulated person has been explained as securities brokers, futures brokers, insurers, Takaful Operators, NBFCs and Modaraba regulated by SECP under administered legislation.
In exercise of the powers conferred under section 6A of the AML Act, the SECP directed all the regulated persons to comply with following customer due diligence requirements under section 7A(1)(b) of the AML Act and section 8(1) of the SECP AML/CFT Regulations, 2020, namely: –
a. The regulated persons shall, at minimum, conduct CDD of their customers/ occasional customers in circumstances and matters set out in section 7(A)1 of the AML Act.
b. For the purposes of section 7(A)(1)(b) of the AML Act, the regulated persons shall conduct CDD in respect of every occasional customer.
Any person to whom this directive applies and who contravenes or fails to comply with the requirements of this directive shall be subject to sanction in accordance with AML/CFT Sanctions Rules, 2020 issued under the AML Act, 2010 and imposed by the Commission according to Clause (h) of Sub-section (2) of Section 6A of AML Act.
This directive shall not affect anything done, order made, show cause issued, proceeding commenced, penalty imposed, investigation, inspection or inquiry conducted or any other action taken or done under or in pursuance of above referred superseded directive shall be valid and under lawful authority.
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SECP directs brokers to provide financial information through new online format
ISLAMABAD: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Thursday directed stock brokers to provide financial information through a newly developed online system.
The SECP issued Circular No. 02 of 2021 for online submission of financial information by securities brokers.
The SECP directed the securities brokers to submit online financial information in a new standardized format on monthly basis as per the following details:
— All securities brokers shall develop a Standard Trial Balance Report through mapping of secondary codes in their back-office system on the prescribed format. The brokers shall take all necessary steps to implement the reporting as given in the said format.
— All securities brokers/TREC holders shall upload the report on their respective e-services portal through the linke “PSX TREC Holder Financial Information Portal”, within ten calendar days after the end of each month. The first monthly report of March 2021 shall be submitted through the system by April 10, 2021.
The SECP said the latest circular will supersede Circular No. 04 of 2013 dated April 16, 2013 issued by the commission which acquires submission of financial information to the commission through online financial report system.
The SECP issued guidelines for submission of financial information:
— All securities brokers are required to implement the Standard Trial Balance Report by mapping / tagging the secondary codes in their existing bank office system either through their software vendors or themselves as the case may be.
— Securities brokers are required to provide the values data corresponding to the nature of each account title and code prescribed in the report format.
— All codes and account head mentioned in BOLD in the report format should not contain any value (or sum of values) in the report generated from the back-office system of securities brokers.
— All securities brokers/PSX TREC holders shall generate MS Excel based Standard Trial Balance Report and upload the report for submission to the SECP through e-services portal using their existing credential i.e. login ID, Password and PIN.
— Under e-services portal of SECP a separate link titled “PSX TREC Holder Financial Information Portal” is provided for uploading of the report.
— SECP team will conduct training sessions to facilitate the securities brokers for submission of Standard Trial Report through e-services portal.
— In addition to above, filing of quarterly returns under existing FRS will continue till the effective date of the circular and amendments in PSX Rule Book.
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Stern action initiated against companies using FBR, SECP registrations for illegal investment
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has initiated stern action against companies engaged in attracting the general public for unauthorized investments by using registrations of relevant authorities.
In a statement on Thursday, the SECP said that mere registration of a company with SECP does not authorize acceptance of deposits from general public.
Deposit taking by companies other than banking companies is illegal in terms of section 84 of the Act. Financial services including car financing, leasing, acceptance of deposits, house financing etc. can only be offered by specialized companies holding valid licence and regulatory approvals.
General public is advised in their own interest to be careful, not to deal and invest in illegal schemes offered by such companies.
In this regard, the SECP while exercising its regulatory power to curb the menace of illegal business practices in the country has taken stern actions against “Lasani Oil Traders (Private) Limited” and “New Lassani Chicks & Chicken (Private) Limited”.
SECP has promptly initiated legal proceedings for the winding up of these companies in terms of section 301 read with section 304 of the Companies Act, 2017 and disqualification of directors thereof in terms of section 172 of the Act.
SECP has observed that both the companies are using their registration with SECP and FBR to win public confidence and are publicizing unauthorized investment schemes through Facebook groups and posts on social media.
In an attempt to block companies’ access to general public, SECP approached PTA to block Facebook/twitter pages, cell phone numbers registered in the name of companies and its directors. The SECP has also made reference of the case to the relevant law enforcement agency.
The SECP has made public a list of 50 companies, involved in similar un-authorized business activities including illegally collecting deposits from investors by making false promises of exceptionally tantalizing returns.
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SECP issues requirement for digital account opening by AMCs
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Thursday issued criteria for opening of digital accounts for Pakistani individual customers by Asset Management Companies (AMCs).
Following is minimum criteria for opening of digital accounts for Pakistani Individuals by AMCs:
Eligible customers;
01. Pakistani individual customers having:
i. an active account at any bank/active e-wallet mobile account; and
ii. an active mobile number in his/her own name.
02. Minimum customer information/personal profile/documents required by AMCs:
The customer shall access the online portal (website, mobile App or any third party application) and provide the following minimum information for the purpose of registration:
i. Customer’s name
ii. Father/spouse name
iii. Date of birth
iv. CNIC/identification number with scanned copy along with date of issuance and expiry
v. Existing residential and mailing address
vi. mobile number registered in his/her name
Provided that the AMCs may in special circumstances use where the Pakistani individual customer does not have mobile number in his/her own name, the mobile number of close family member or the mobile number provided to Pakistani individual customers by his/her employer, or the international mobile number of Pakistani individual customer having CNIC/NICOP and an active account at any bank/active E-Wallet mobile account subject to the following:
In case where mobile number of close family member is provided, a duly signed written authorization, on prescribed format, from both the Pakistani individual customers and the person whose mobile number is being provided;
In case where mobile number provided by employer is used, Pakistani individual customer shall provided the bill of service provider in accordance with the procedures and a letter from employer stating that the said mobile number is provided by employer to its employee;
In case where international mobile number is used, Pakistani individual customers shall provide the bill of service provider in accordance with the procedures.
Explanation: For the purpose of this circular, the term ‘close family member’ shall mean and include spouse, dependent parents and dependent children only.
vii. email ID
viii. Mother’s maiden name
ix. Bank/E-Wallet Name and Bank Account IBAN Number / E-Wallet Mobile Account Number
x. Digital / online signature card
xi. Details of nominee
xii. Source of fund/income
xiii. dividend mandate
xiv. operating instructions, if any
xv. statement of account request
xvi. digital/online declaration regarding profession and source of fund/income along with uploading of valid documents as proof thereof
xvii. digital/online undertaking declaring that funds being invested are his/her own funds and that the funds beneficially owned by other persons will not be used and uploading of declaration / undertaking as a proof thereof
xviii. Digital/online consent for account opening and using information/documents provided digitally / online for necessary due diligence and verification functions
xix. Digital / online acceptance of terms and conditions of the account
xx. Any other documents required under AML Act, 2010 and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism) Regulations, 2020 (AML/CFT Regulations) (customer specific)
After submission of the required information and documents, a message shall pop up for the customer on the online portal that his/her request is in process and he/she will receive an One Time Password (OTP) once the basic information is verified.
03. Verification by AMCs
AMCs will carry out required due diligence including but not limited to:
a. verification of the CNIC/National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP)/ Pakistani Origin Card (POC) of customer through NADRA VERISYS;
b. the CNIC and mobile number pairing (whether it is registered in the name of the customer) through Pakistan Mobile Network Database.
Provided further that in all the circumstances mentioned in proviso of clause 2(vi), AMC shall perform digital verification to conduct online face to face interaction on real time basis through any virtual meeting application (Whatsapp, skype etc.) for authentication of the customer and original identification document.
c. Screening of the prospective customer against application sanction regimes (UNSC, NACTA, etc.)
d. IBAN / E-Wallet Mobile Account Number verification through 1-link title fetch service or IBAN/W-Wallet Mobile Account Number and CNIC pairing or Digital Verification to conduct online fact to face interaction on real time basis through any virtual meeting application (Whatsapp, skype etc.) for authentication of the customer and original identification document;
Provided that for such Pakistani individual customer who do not have mobile number is their own name or provide international mobile number, IBAN/E-Wallet Mobile Account Number verification through 1-Link title fetch service or IBAN/E-Wallet Mobile Account Number and CNIC Pairing and Digital Verification to conduct online face to face interaction on real time basis shall be mandatory.
e. Verification of contact details through one time password, email or call back;
In case the verification is successful, an OTP shall be generated and immediately sent on the designated mobile number and/or email address of the customer, as the case may be, valid for a limited period of time.
f. AMC shall ensure before opening the account that all documents required for screening and risk rating are available and it can conduct screening and risk rating.
g. the customer will not be allowed to proceed in case the information cannot be successfully verified by AMC.
04. Account Opening and Activation:
The AMC will proceed with opening of account after the customer has successfully accessed the portal using the OTP. Account may be opened after due diligence checks and satisfactory completion of the requirements. The opening of customer account shall be subject to compliance with all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
05. Additional Measures by AMC:
> AMCs shall develop SOPs for:
* Information and documents to be collected through website/mobile App;
* Turnaround time (TAT) for decision to open or decline account is 3 working days from the time of upload of all information/documents. In case of any discrepancy in documents or where additional documents are required, AMC would revert back to customer within three working days;
> AMCS shall not open digital/online accounts in joint names;
> AMCs may record the real time online fact to face interaction call with the customer while carry out KYC process for opening of account;
> AMCS to ensure data/ privacy protection, safety and security of information/ documents through reliable IT infrastructure;
> AMCs should ensure to deploy necessary technical infrastructure and system while establishing business relationship through e-KYC to comply with AML/CFT regime of the country;
> After opening of account, as part of ongoing monitoring and customer due diligence, AMCs may seek additional information from customers based on their ongoing internal risk assessment and compliance framework;
> AMCs may carryout periodical re-profiling of the customers in accordance with AML/CFT policy;
> AMCs shall deploy adequate controls to ensure that customer is not a robot (e.g. CATPCHA Codes);
> AMCs shall ensure customer care service through call center;
> To eliminate the risks of impersonation of the customer or identity theft, the AMC should take appropriate security measures;
06. Types of CIS offered by AMCs
> All types of mutual funds may be offered to the customers subject to minimum investment limits as per the Constitutive Document of the fund and compliance with disclosure, disclaimer, risk profiling, risk categorization and other regulatory requirements.
AMCs shall at all times comply with all requirements of AML Act, 2010 and AML/CFT Regulations, 2020 issued by SECP from time to time.