Islamabad:
The Securities and Exchange Commission of
Pakistan (SECP) has directed all foreign companies operating in the
country to provide detailed records of their ‘ultimate beneficial owners’,
according to news sources.
To this effect, the SECP has issued SRO 81 (I)/2020 to amend the Foreign Companies Regulations, 2018 framework. As per the revisions proposed, all corporate bodies (which are members/ secretaries/ directors of foreign firms) will be required to reveal the details of their owners – in case the members are corporate entities.
According to the SECP’s specifications, the “ultimate beneficial owner means a natural person who ultimately owns or controls a foreign company and includes the persons who exercise ultimate effective control through a chain of ownership or by means of control other than direct control of not less than 25 percent of shares, voting rights or controlling interest in the foreign company.”
Further, the records provided by the companies should include the information about all direct shareholdings, control or interest. For indirect shareholding/control, particulars of all legal persons or arrangements’ details (whether made abroad or in Pakistan) need to be provided to the SECP.
These
particulates should include the owner’s name, company details (Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), partnership firm, trust,
or any other corporate structure), incorporation date/ registration date,
registration authority’s name, email address, business address, and country-of-origin
name.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
