Pakistan’s corporate legislation could be headed for a major shake-up after a high-level subcommittee on regulatory reforms endorsed extensive changes to the Companies Act 2017 in a bid to align the country’s corporate environment with international best practices.
The proposals came under discussion on Monday during a meeting chaired by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan. The session brought together Scott Jacobs and senior officials from the Board of Investment (BOI), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
According to officials, the SECP and BOI jointly presented a reform package designed to modernise the law and remove outdated constraints. Among the headline recommendations are eliminating member limits for private and public companies, allowing more flexibility in corporate structures, and scrapping procedural hurdles deemed unnecessary.
Haroon Akhtar stressed the urgency of translating the agreed reforms into draft legislation, cautioning that excessive regulation, red tape, and procedural delays continue to undermine business growth. He noted that several clauses in the existing Act no longer reflect modern commercial realities and are obstructing innovation in corporate practices.
