ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Au­­rangzeb on Wednesday di­­rected the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to strengthen outreach on capital market reforms to improve awareness among corporates and investors.

He chaired a meeting of the Capital Market Development Council (CMDC) to review progress on capital market reforms, focusing discussions on developing the corporate bond market, improving secondary market liquidity, simplifying issuance procedures, strengthening market infrastructure, and reviewing the tax framework affecting capital market participants.

SECP Chairman Dr Kabir Sidhu and representatives of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, State Bank of Pakistan, Central Depository Company, Nat­ional Clearing Comp­any of Pakistan Ltd, Pakistan Banks Association and Pakistan Business Council attended the meeting.

Mr Aurangzeb emphasised that Pakistan needs to gradually move towards a more balanced financial system in which capital ma­­­­rkets complement the ba­­nking sector in meeting the economy’s financing needs.

He noted that the development of a vibrant corporate bond market would play an important role in mobilising long-term domestic savings and supporting private sector investment.

Mr Aurangzeb stressed the need for practical and time-bound reforms to address bottlenecks across the capital market value chain, including issuance processes, regulatory procedures, market infrastructure and secondary market liquidity.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2026