Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Faruq Ahmed Siddiqi here yesterday said the SEC is waiting for the government's approval to its key reform proposals seeking real teeth to ensure corporate practice and financial transparency and protect investors' interests.
The SEC chairman said this while inaugurating a two-day training programme for authorised representatives of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) in the CSE conference room.
The main features of the reform proposals include amendments to the 1969 ordinance, increasing the SEC's autonomy and constituting a special bench of the High Court, Siddiqi told the function.
The commission is also working on revising of the Company Law, establishing auditor's oversight board, setting up a capital market institute and liquidation of delinquent companies, he added.
CSE President AKM Mohiuddin presided over the function while Abbas Uddin Khan addressed the function as the special guest.
AB Siddique, chief executive officer of CSE, Nasiruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, first vice president, AQI Chowdhury, Vice-president and Mirza Salman Ispahani, director, among others, spoke at the function.
The new SEC chairman said the market has witnessed a significant improvement in corporate practices with a good number of listed companies defaulting on holding annual general meeting and submission of audited accounts going down gradually.
The listed companies that failed to hold AGMs and furnish audited accounts numbered 41 and 38 respectively in January 2004, while 24 and 32 in January this year, he said.
"We have brought many necessary changes in the regulation but there are other issues that should be addressed to have a sound capital market," Siddiqi said adding that the country's capital market has achieved remarkable growth in the last couple of years.
