Islamabad: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has provided its approval to the recently proposed framework of listing rules pertaining to the workings of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a news source reported. Termed the ‘Growth Enterprise Market Listing Regulations’, these regulations are expected to promote the interests of SMEs, not-for-profit organisations and greenfield projects,
SECP has advised the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to arrange for the publishing of the new rules in the official Gazette of Pakistan. These new regulations will replace the existing laws that govern the listings. Their aim is to facilitate SMEs, start-up projects, and greenfield companies that seek to raise funds through the capital markets, but are unable to meet the conditions of the listings that can be found on PSX’s main board.
In order to implement this measure, another board will now be included in addition to the main board of PSX. This additional Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) board will be for the trading and listing of equity securities; however it will share the same screen as the main board.
The GEM board will feature a more conducive regulatory environment. Public companies that have audited accounts for the last two fiscal years and post issue paid-up capital worth at least PKR 25 million will be eligible for listing on this board.
The GEM board’s listing fee is also comparatively lower than the main PSX board. The minimum fee for the former is PKR 50,000, as compared to PKR 200,000 for the latter. Furthermore, a person licensed with the SECP as a securities broker or consultant to the issue can also act as an advisor.
