The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan(SECP) officials notified the media regarding the new-fangled initiatives of Islamic Finance at the SECP headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday.
SECP Strives to Launch Takaful Technology, a.k.a TakTech
Officials stated that the SECP, in unison with all the shareholders, will strive to amalgamate Shariah principles in disorderly FinTech innovations (Big Data, Smart Contracts, and Blockchain Technology), which will assist in the financial inclusion and augmentation of the consumer experience for the Shariah sensitive investors. In addition, the department will also evaluate Regulatory Technology (RegTech) solutions available for the administration of the Islamic financial sector, especially in the areas of Shariah Compliance and Shariah Audit.
The SECP is also brainstorming to collaborate with shareholders to enhance the capacity of Takaful in Pakistan by releasing TakTech (Takaful Technology) to modernise the Takaful sector by countering prevailing initiatives to augment Takaful exposure to the unserved factions of the population. In addition, the SECP will also investigate the Asset Light Sukuk skeleton for the issuance of Asset Light Sukuks.
For Green Sukuks, IFD is already facilitating research for fabricating regulatory skeletons for allowing the issuance of Green Sukuk in Pakistan. In addition, in consultation with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP), IFD is also establishing a Shariah audit qualification for peripheral Shariah auditors within the Shariah Governance Regulations, 2018. The SECP officials stated that this move would assist in streamlining the peripheral Shariah audit profession within Pakistan.
In alliance with the Shariah Governance Regulations, the SECP has issued certificates of Shariah compliance to seven firms in terms of the Shariah Governance Regulations, 2018 to improve the Islamic financial capital market. Additionally, the SECP has issued certificates of Shariah compliance for Sukuk issuances valued at PKR 280 billion (USD 1.38 billion), inclusive of the ‘Power Energy Sukuk-II’ by the Government of Pakistan valued at PKR 200 billion (USD 0.99 billion) and ‘Pakistan International Airlines Corporations Limited-Sukuk’ valued at PKR 20 billion (INR 0.099 billion).
Within the Shariah Advisors Regulations, 2017, one new-fangled shariah Advisor was enrolled on the SECP from 2020 to 2021. By far, 105 Shariah advisors have been listed within the SECP, including six private limited firms delivering Shariah advisory services.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has been steadily embracing Accounting and Shariah Standards released by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) to accomplish a humongous degree of standardisation in Islamic financial operational and business practices entities. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has released draft updates for the assumption of 7 extra AAOIFI Shariah Standards, whilst reviewing excess Shariah standards are being scrutinised for inclusion within the draft.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is facilitating its regulatory assistance to augment the maturity of the Islamic Finance sector by extending Islamic Finance regulations to deliver an empowering regulatory ecosystem for the shareholders tumbling under the horizon of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. In addition, the SECP officials stated that improvements in the Shariah Governance Regulations are in development to fabricate the simplicity of doing business.