June 06, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 01, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 5: Many possible changes are expected in the Corporatisation, Demutualisation and Integration Bill 2008, which was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, once it is presented in the House Standing Committee on Finance, sources told Dawn.

After its approval by the cabinet, the bill would now be forwarded to the National Assembly and then the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, where it would be discussed and may be amended. The bill would later be tabled in parliament for final approval.

The draft law had also been approved by the caretaker cabinet in January and had forwarded it to President Pervez Musharraf for approval in the shape of an ordinance. But, in order to avoid any fresh controversy with the new PPP-led coalition government, the president later refused to sign the draft and rather sent it back to the Cabinet to be forwarded to the Parliament for a debate and approval after possible changes and amendments.

Now, it is expected that the Parliament would infuse some of the changes suggested by various stakeholders recently when the draft law was still pending for approval by the president.

Sources told Dawn that ever since the president refused to sign the draft amidst speculations of possible changes in the law once it was tabled in the Parliament, the SECP had started efforts to make sure that the draft law did not go to Parliament in the shape of a bill but rather should be treated as a part of the existing legislation.

They said the SECP is of the view that Section 32E of the amended Securities and Exchange Ordinance is related to corporatisation, demutualisation and integration of the stock exchanges and that there is no need of brining any independent law to make the bourses demutualise.