SECP issues draft amendments to reduce timelines for credit bonus and right shares

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued notification for public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Companies (Further Issue of Shares) Regulations, 2020 (the “Regulations”).
These amendments focus on streamlining the processes for bonus and right shares issuance and to significantly reduce timelines by 87% and 72% for bonus and right issue respectively, thereby enhancing market efficiency and enabling quicker capital mobilization. Timelines for bonus and right shares issue are proposed to be reduced to 11 days (existing: 85 days) and 50 days (existing 181 days) respectively.
The draft amendments followed an extensive consultation process with key stakeholders, including PSX, CDC, NCCPL, leading Consultants to Issue, lawyers and financial experts. Initial feedback was collected to identify areas for improvement in the Regulations. The insights were synthesized into a detailed Consultation Paper titled “Reduction in Timelines for Issuance of Bonus and Right Shares by Listed Companies”, which was published to invite further feedback.
In-person consultations were held, followed by an online session, where the feedback was discussed in-depth, ensuring the proposals were refined based on a consensus-driven approach. The SECP has now notified the draft amendments for comments before these become effective.
Additionally, amendments are also proposed to remove requirement on a company to prepare draft offer document in Urdu language and introduce a new requirement to submit additional information along with the right offer document to ensure smooth and efficient processing of the right offer document.
The SECP is committed to a robust and transparent consultation process, ensuring stakeholders have ample opportunity to contribute during the regulatory review. Feedback on the draft amendments can be submitted by July 17, 2025 to capitalissuefeedback@secp.gov.pk. The notification detailing the proposed amendments is available on the SECP website.