On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) officially allowed private companies to offer Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) to their employees, which is essentially an effort by the SECP to support Pakistan’s nascent startup ecosystem.
ESOP is a popular method of attracting, motivating, and retaining employees. Stock option plans permit employees to share in the company’s success without requiring a startup business to spend precious cash.
But startups in Pakistan have been giving stock options to their employees even before the SECP approval to attract and retain talent. So what makes the SECP’s approval significant? Besides, what value do these stock options have for people who have low salaries and would almost always prefer a higher salary in a country like Pakistan? The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
