ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) organised a consultative session on agricultural warehousing regulations and commodities-based collateral and financing eco-system, at the SECP head office on Tuesday. A number of stakeholders from the State Bank of Pakistan, National Bank of Pakistan, Zarai Taraqiyati Bank, National Rural Support Program and officials from the ministry of agriculture attended the session. Representatives of a number of commercial banks including, HBL, MCB, Meezan and UBL, Central Depository Company of Pakistan, Pakistan Mercantile Exchange, Pakistan Microfinance Network, Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company, provincial departments of agriculture from Punjab and Sind, Pakistan Agriculture Coalition, telecommunication companies (Mobilink and Telenor) also attended the session. Executive Director, SECP highlighted the importance of collateral and warehouse management for developing agriculture value chain and the SECP’s role and commitment towards modernizing Pakistan’s agricultural markets. He also briefed the participants on the recently notified collateral management framework. Dr. Andre Van der Vyver, an international expert on commodities market also made a detailed presentation on practical and operational aspects of collateral management ecosystem. The participants actively made queries in the interactive session and provided their input and suggestions on the way forward. The participants emphasised on continues dialogue/collaboration between SECP and SBP and other stakeholders to develop a roadmap and a regulatory framework for the commodity market. The SECP has issued Collateral Management Companies (Establishment and Operations) Regulations, 2017 on May 2, 2017. The SECP is also drafting the Warehousing Regulations for implementing a modern collateral management regulatory regime in Pakistan. Published in Daily Times, July 19th , 2017.