SECP introduces business friendly reform measures

ISLAMABAD, Dec 27 (APP): In order to further promote
corporatization in the country, the Securities and Exchange
Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has revamped operations at its three
major offices located at Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
Incorporation and Facilitation Desks have been established at
these Company Registration Offices which would ensure facilitation
to the investors so that the companies are incorporated within a
day, said a SECP statement issued here.
Further, in order to reduce the turnaround time in business
start-up and ease the process of incorporation, registration of
companies with a single object has been allowed, which will enable
registration of companies on the same day subject to the condition
that the registration documents are filed under online mode.
This swift mode of registration is likely to further
corporatization of the business sector, the statement added.
A number of other business friendly measures have been
introduced resulting in substantial reduction in registration fee
for small companies and filing fee of companies with small capital
base, waiving of name availability fee, provision of complimentary
certified true copies of company formation documents, reduction in
time to register by merging the name availability and incorporation
processes.
Further, optimal utilization of information technology in
service delivery is ensured through enabling online payment of fee
through credit card and online funds transfer facility, enabling
online issuance of digital signatures.
The Commission has also expanded its physical outreach through
establishment of its registration office at Gilgit Baltistan, a
Capital Market Hub at Abbottabad, and Facilitation Center at
Sialkot.
All these measures are likely to provide investor-friendly
environment for the corporate sector, the statement added.
The reforms are also likely to improve the country’s
starting-a-business and doing business rankings annually published
by the World Bank to provide a comparative analysis of the doing
business reform activity across the globe. It will also ensure
documentation of the economy.