STAFF REPORT ISB: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Zafar Hijazi has emphasised that the relationship between regulators and academia is important to face the complex challenges of developing markets, research and equipping the youth with applied knowledge.
He was addressing the participants while signing MoUs with prestigious universities for promoting investors’ education, awareness on financial discipline and literacy.
The SECP chairman said that investors’ education and awareness and financial literacy is a critical pillar of SECP’s regulatory regime.
The MoUs were signed with the City University of Science and Information Technology in Peshawar, Fatima Jinnah Women University in Rawalpindi, Hamdard University in Karachi, Institute of Management Sciences in Peshawar and the University of Engineering and Technology in Taxila.
The commissioner said that equipping the students with financial literacy is important to avoid the incidents like ‘double-shah’ and illegal modarabas.
The potential investors need to be educated about available opportunities for investments, financial ethics and financial discipline so that they make informed decisions, he added.
Hamdard University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Hakim Abdul Hannan said that a number of people lose their savings due to bad investment decisions as they are not aware of legal investment opportunities offered by regulated sector. Therefore, he said, educating our people and especially youth is essential for raising financially disciplined nation.
Fatima Jinnah University Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Samina Amin Qadir said that in the developed world, literacy has become a diverse term and it is important to impart our students’ knowledge of financial and capital markets.