KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to delegate to Authorized Dealers (ADs) the functions related to the registration of shares and units issued or transferred on a repatriable basis by local companies and funds to non-residents, in a move aimed at facilitating foreign investment and improving ease of doing business.

The SBP on Monday announced that it has revised its foreign exchange regulatory framework, delegating key functions related to share and unit registration on a repatriable basis to ADs and simplifying documentary requirements to facilitate foreign investment and improve ease of doing business.

According to an official circular, attention of ADs has been drawn to Para 16 of Chapter 14 and Paras 7(v), 7(vi) and 7(vii) of Chapter 20 of the Foreign Exchange Manual (FEM), which outline the existing procedures for designation and registration of shares and units.

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In order to promote ease of doing business and facilitate foreign investors, SBP has decided to delegate the functions of registration of shares/units on repatriable basis issued/transferred by local companies/funds to the non-residents and designation of ADs for the purpose of remittance of dividend and disinvestment proceeds to non-resident shareholders/unitholders to ADs.

The SBP further said that documentary requirements for registration of such shares and units have been simplified as part of the revised framework.

Accordingly, amendments have been made to Para 16, Chapter 14 and Paras 7(v), 7(vi) and 7(vii) of Chapter 20 of the Foreign Exchange Manual. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have also been introduced and included in the updated instructions to ensure uniform implementation across the banking industry.

The SBP said the SOPs have been developed to provide guidance to Authorized Dealers and maintain consistency in the execution of delegated functions. To allow banks sufficient time to make necessary operational arrangements, the revised instructions will become effective one month after the issuance of the circular.