SECP, PIDE sign MoU for investor education

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ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish cooperation for conducting investor education and awareness sessions for the students and faculty members of the institute.

The MoU, signed at the SECP head office is part of SECP’s investor education program `Jamapunji’, said a statement issued here. The MoU was signed by SECP Commissioner, Investor Education and International Relations (IE&IRD), Akif Saeed and the Vice Chancellor PIDE, Dr. Asad Zaman.

The PIDE contingent included Dr. Fazal Hussain, Dr. Usman Mustafa, Dr. Nadeem Khan, Dr. Hassan Rasool and Mr. Khurram Ellahi while senior SECP officials were also in attendance.

Akif Saeed at the occasion emphasized for collaborative efforts between the regulator and the educational sector to create an enabling and vibrant financial environment in Pakistan.

He also stressed on the importance of sensitizing students to a culture of financial planning and budgeting as early as possible in their educational pursuit.

The Vice Chancellor PIDE Dr. Asad Zaman appreciated SECP’s efforts for taking this initiative and expressed his keen interest in developing a long term association in this regard.

Under the MoU, SECP will be holding regular seminars at PIDE on a continuing basis to impart knowledge to students about the basics of savings, financial planning, investing and capital markets.

Students will also learn about the Jamapunji web portal that has been specially developed for imparting investor education in Pakistan.

At par with investor education web portals of advanced economies, the web portal offers comprehensive information about Pakistan’s investment products, capital markets, insurance and the non-banking financial sectors to anyone who is interested in investing in Pakistan.

During the meeting, the need for bilateral cooperation was highlighted especially in the area of research projects engaging the student body in analysis of financial markets.

Both sides also discussed plans for conducting Investor Education `train the trainer’ workshops for faculty members as well.