Overview
- Delivering the keynote at the inaugural International Capital Market Conference 2025 in Karachi, Jameel Ahmad praised the SECP for convening regional regulators and market participants.
- He argued that integrated regional markets are necessary to broaden investor bases, lower transaction costs, and support inclusive, resilient growth across Asia.
- Citing precedents, he pointed to the ASEAN+3 initiative where bond markets expanded from 88% of GDP in 2002 to 133% in 2025, alongside lessons from the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market.
- He outlined prerequisites for integration that include regulatory alignment, market connectivity infrastructure, harmonised legal and institutional frameworks, and stronger cross-border regulatory collaboration.
- As concrete steps, he highlighted work to link Pakistan’s Raast instant payment system with the Arab Monetary Fund’s Buna platform and to develop a unified digital identity and KYC framework with the SECP and PSX, while cautioning that integration demands robust surveillance and macroeconomic coordination to manage contagion risks.