SECP, PSX host ‘IPO Roundtable 2024’

KARACHI: The Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), in a collaborative effort, held the IPO Roundtable 2024 in Lahore, themed, ‘Empowering the Future of Capital Markets’.

This roundtable was convened following the success of the IPO Summit held in Karachi in January 2024. The focus of the roundtable was to generate awareness among growth-driven private companies on how they can leverage the capital markets (IPO) to achieve their vision of growth, expansion,

diversification and corporatisation.

Key capital market stakeholders, including business leaders, market participants & consultants to the Issue, investment banking professionals, regulators and potential issuers (totaling 30 companies) participated in the roundtable. Prominent participants included Akif Saeed, Chairman SECP; Abdul Rehman Warraich, Commissioner SECP, and team members from the Securities Market Division of the SECP. Ahmed Chinoy, Board Member PSX, led the team from PSX.

The CTIs at the conference were led by the top management of AKD Securities Limited, Arif Habib Limited, Next Capital Limited, Integrated Equities Limited and Topline Securities Limited. The (new and old) listed companies from Lahore region present at the conference included leadership from Fast Cables Limited, Hi Tech Lubricants Limited, Honda Atlas Cars, Pak Electron Limited (PEL),and Packages Limited, among others.

The aim of the conference included discussing, advising and clearing the pathway to encourage companies to raise equity and debt through the PSX platform. Particularly, the conference addressed the concerns and queries of companies aspiring to list on the Stock Exchange with the objective of increasing their understanding of the IPO process and facilitating them. The listed companies’ representatives shared their motivation, results, and benefits reaped of listing with the potential issuers. They discussed how their corporate governance and relationship with their stakeholders improved post-listing. Speeches, briefings and discussions held by the leadership of the SECP, PSX, CTIs and the listed companies aimed at encouraging potential issuers & unlisted companies to list and providing them the necessary guidance from a regulatory and procedural standpoint.

Akif Saeed, Chairman SECP, in his welcome address, highlighted that the capital market provides flexible, efficient, and cost-effective solutions to businesses pursuing debt and equity capital raising options depending on their needs. He discussed the regulatory measures and responded to queries regarding ease of

listing from a regulatory perspective.

Ahmed Chinoy, Board member PSX, added, “It is indeed a step in the right direction that after the successful convening of the IPO Summit in Karachi earlier this year, we are now holding this important IPO Roundtable in Lahore. IPOs are much more than just a means for companies to raise funds. The transition from private to public market status represents a significant milestone in any company’s journey, offering access to a broader pool of capital and the prospect of increasing corporate governance & transparency. Today’s session gives us a unique opportunity to explore how we can further unlock this potential by addressing the challenges that companies face when considering going public”.

Raeda Latif, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer at PSX, gave a presentation with a briefing to the attendees of the conference, on the benefits of listing for the companies themselves and for the economy as a whole.

In the concluding remarks, Abdul Rehman Warraich, Commissioner SECP, emphasized the importance of early adoption of corporate governance structures as the companies begin their journey of listing and progress going forward.