KARACHI:
Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Zafar Hijazi said on Wednesday the regulator is looking to enhance Shariah compliance in the capital markets by restructuring and reorganising the Islamic capital market.
Speaking at the fourth Islamic Finance Expo and Conference as chief guest, Hijazi discussed in detail the roadmap for the promotion of Islamic finance in Pakistan.
He added that the SECP is centralising the Shariah-related capital market activities besides improving the regulatory framework for Takaful, Modarabas, Islamic mutual funds, Islamic pension funds and Islamic real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Speaking on the occasion, trade and business representative Ateequr Rehman urged the government to directly borrow from the public instead of taking money from the banks. He also called for the development of mortgage financing segment besides highlighting the growth potential of Takaful, green financing and private-sector financing.
In his keynote address, State Bank of Pakistan Executive Director Syed Samar Hasnain called for a shift from debt-based system to an equity-based system. From the current 10% share of Islamic banking in the overall banking system, Hasnain said the central bank aims to increase it to 20% by 2020. The central bank has also made it easy for conventional banks to set up Islamic banking subsidiaries by reducing the paid-up capital requirement, he said.
Meanwhile, addressing the participants, Additional Inspector General of Police Ghulam Qadir Thebo said crime rate has reduced significantly in Karachi. He said each case of the 24 bank robberies in 2014 has now been resolved, and only one such case has surfaced in 2015 so far.
(The Express Tribune / 23 April 2015)
---Alfalah Consulting - Kuala Lumpur: www.alfalahconsulting.com
Islamic Investment Malaysia: www.islamic-invest-malaysia.com
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