The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has issued a policy note to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) recommending revocation of amendments made to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Listing Regulations on 22 June, 2010. The proposed amendment which has been forwarded for gazette notification includes a clause requiring directors of all listed companies to get a certification of “The Board Development Programme,” offered by the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) at a cost of Rs. 200,000 per director. If approved, the amendment could lead to the creation of a monopoly position of PICG, by recognizing its certification only. The CCP is of the view that although qualification requirements for certain posts is a globally recognized phenomenon, specifying a certain institution only in this case amounts to creating entry barriers for other educational institutions, and hence restricts competition. Such a measure could retard incentives for quality improvement by the dominant player, and limits consumer choice both in cost and location. The policy note, issued by Dr. Joseph Wilson, Member Policy Planning, Research and International Affairs recommends an immediate revocation of the amendment in the KSE Listing Regulations. Rather than specifying a particular institution for the course, KSE has been proposed to clearly prescribe detailed requirements of the program such as the curriculum, number credit hours required, etc. The course may be offered by PICG amongst other institutions recognized for this purpose by the Higher Education Commission.
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