Friday, the federal government announced Akif Saeed’s immediate appointment as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). On December 13, the incumbent government appointed Saeed to serve as SECP.
Saeed previously served as SECP Commissioner from December 2014 till December 2017 In 2004, he joined the SECP and served as the chief of several divisions. According to a news release, he has considerable regulatory, operational, and business experience of several infrastructure organisations in the capital markets.
During his career at the SECP, he made important contributions to the implementation of numerous legal and regulatory reforms for improved corporate governance, transparency, investor education, investor protection, and risk management. In addition to creating private pension via the implementation of voluntary pension regulations and the issuing of licences to four pension fund managers in 2007, he was essential in establishing a legislative framework for REITs and private equity.
He was instrumental in ensuring compliance with the IOSCO benchmarks for the securities market. Mr. Saeed also led the team responsible for revising Pakistan’s securities legislation and drafting the Securities Act 2015 and Futures Act 2016. In the business sector, he has held positions with American Express Bank and as a consultant for the Asian Development Bank.
He received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Edinburgh and his Master of Economics from Government College Lahore. He is a Chevening alumnus.
Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue, met with the SECP Management in the Finance Division earlier in the day. In addition, the Minister congratulated the newly-appointed SECP commissioners.
The Finance Minister praised SECP’s contribution to Pakistan’s financial and economic development by regaining and sustaining the confidence of domestic and global investors through a variety of regulatory initiatives.