ISLAMABAD
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) got re-elected to the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Board on Wednesday at the IOSCO Annual Conference in Rio, Brazil.
This will be the SECP’s second consecutive term to represent the Asia-Pacific region within the Board 2014-16 after the successful completion of first term on the Board 2012-14. IOSCO is a global standard setting body for securities markets and has a membership base from 115 countries, covering 95pc of the world’s capital markets. The SECP has been a member of the IOSCO since 1998. The organisation is mandated to establish and maintain consistently high regulatory standards for the securities industry. The SECP is currently also a part of the IOSCO Presidents Committee, Growth Emerging Markets Committee, Growth Emerging Markets Steering Committee, Asia Pacific Regional Committee IOSCO Policy Committee on regulation of market intermediaries and Assessment Committee. Furthermore, the SECP is also a full signatory to IOSCO’s Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) for cross-border cooperation and information exchange.
The reconstituted IOSCO Board, responsible for taking all decisions and undertaking all actions necessary or convenient to achieve the objectives of the Organization, consists of 33 members. Apart from the SECP, the Board members represent the securities regulators from jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Germany, France and Turkey. The SECP’s election to IOSCO Board brings more balance and diversity to the IOSCO board, enabling it to act as a representative and voice of the developing capital markets.
The SECP Chairman Tahir Mahmood who will be the SECP’s representative to the Board stated: “The SECP has always been committed to taking the IOSCO’s mandate forward and has effectively contributed in various work streams of IOSCO. Being re-elected to the Board portrays Pakistan’s contribution to this vital forum as board member and would go a long way to improving country’s image globally.”
Mahmood further added “IOSCO has a critical role in leading the development of the global framework for securities markets and Pakistan looks forward to supporting this progress as part of the think tank towards improving regulatory standards. Being an emerging economy in the Asia-Pacific region, Pakistan’s experience in implementation of global standards and reforms places us in a good position to add value to the IOSCO Board policy and standards setting work.