ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation on Wednesday visited the head office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and discussed with its officials the recent capital market crash and measures to control market abuse in future.

An official announcement issued here on Wednesday said the IMF delegation, which was headed by Mohsin S. Khan, Director, Middle East and Central Asian Region, called on the SECP Chairman, Dr Tariq Hassan and Commissioner, securities market, Shahid Ghaffar and other senior officials.

The SECP made a detailed presentation to the delegation on Pakistan’s capital market and the reform measures being taken to improve risk management and investor protection. Issues related to the market events of March 2005 as well as the actions taken by the SECP were also discussed.

The delegation was updated on phasing out of Carry-Over Transaction (COT)/Badla financing and demutualization of the stock exchanges. An official source said the commission also informed the IMF team about the present opposition it faced in implementing various market reforms. It attributed the opposition to the mutualized structure of the exchanges.

The team was informed that at present certain major market players enjoyed upper hand in capital market that was why they were able to influence the market to their advantage, he said.

The team also discussed the report of the task force on the market crisis and measures being taken by the SECP to strengthen legal framework, the official said. He said the commission informed the IMF team that various existing laws were being amended while some new laws were being promulgated that also included laws pertaining to the demutualization of the exchanges and providing a stronger regulatory framework for the SROs as well as for futures trading.

The commission also informed the IMF team about its efforts to move the government for various legislations in the near future to avoid the March-like market crash in future.