ISLAMABAD: In view of the fact that banks and stock markets are vital instruments of the country’s financial system, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has announced that the all capital market entities would be operational on Tuesday.
The SECP has taken necessary measures to ensure continuity of business operations of its Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) including the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC) and National Clearing Company of Pakistan (NCCPL).
Following the request of the SECP, the Sindh government has included SROs of the capital market amongst ‘Essential Services ’. The Sindh government has announced a complete lockdown in the province to combat coronavirus.
In another update, the SECP has also increased the duration of the market halt. The official statement said, “Taking into account the existing exceptional circumstances and to ensure smooth operations in capital markets, the SECP, directed PSX may extend the duration of market halt from 45 minutes to 120 minutes for a period of 15 days from the date of this letter.”
Further, the requirement under Regulation 8.3.2 is also relaxed whereby securities brokers may be allowed to activate and operate the Disaster Recovery (DR) terminals for trading purposes during normal operations of the PSX for a period of 15 days from March 24.
