Yearly Archives: 2016

Mr. Muhammad Hanif (CEO – Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited) re-elected as the Chairman of Executive Committee of Asia Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) after defeating Mr. Nageshwar Rao (MD – National Securities Depository Limited, India).

 

In the 20^th General Meeting of Asia Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) held at Tehran, Iran, honors comes to Pakistan as the CEO of Pakistani Depository again elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee. Here, it is worth mentioning that Mr. Hanif secured 5 votes (out of the total 8) and his opponent Mr. Rao of Indian Depository secured only 3 votes. The Executive committee of ACG is comprising of 8 elite depositories of the region representing countries like China, Japan. Korea, India and Pakistan.

 

Asia Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG) is an informal body of all the depositories and Clearing houses of the Asia-pacific region. The group consist of 34 CSDs representing 23 countries. ACG is also one of the five members of the World Forum of CSDs (WFC), which is the global body of Depositories, representing all the five continents.

 

Mr. Muhammad Hanif served as the Chairman ACG for last three years and CDC Pakistan was acting as the Secretariat for ACG. His termed ended last week in Tehran but majority of Executive Members of ACG were of the view that he should continue to lead ACG, as ACG in the last three years of his Chairmanship has been transformed into a vibrant body and has become the true voice of Asian Depositories on the global front. Majority of the members of the General body of ACG were also of the view that CDC Pakistan served remarkably as Secretariat and they really want CDC Pakistan and Mr. Muhammad Hanif to continue.

 

NSDL India contested against CDC Pakistan and Mr. Nageswara Rao MD – NSDL India opted to run for the position of Chairman Executive Committee against Mr. Hanif. However. 5 members of the Executive Committee voted for Mr. Hanif and only 3 voted in favor of Mr. Rao, resultantly electing Mr. Muhammad Hanif as the Chairman Executive Committee for another three years term. This also shows the confidence and trust members of ACG has on CDC Pakistan.

In 2000, the mutual fund industry started flourishing in the Pakistani Capital Market and provided a new concept and investment arena to retail and individual investors who possess inadequate knowledge of the capital market but are interested in utilizing its benefits.

 

CDC, realizing the importance and service demands of this sector, started Trustee & Custodial Services in 2002, initially with two open-ended mutual funds having a net assets value of Rs. 500 million. In a short span of time, CDC’s Trustee & Custodial Services, by keeping itself abreast with developments in the mutual fund industry operation, has achieved tremendous growth. The Company, through its proactive approach and high standards of service, has obtained the leading position in this service sector and is currently providing Trustee & Custodial Services to 167 Mutual Funds including 17 Pension Funds being managed by various Asset Management Companies (AMCs) / Pension Fund Managers (PFM) with an aggregate Fund size of approximately Rs. 702 billion.

 

As Trustee and Custodian, CDC’s role is to take into custody all the assets of the Collective Investment Schemes/Pension Funds, hold them in trust on behalf of the unit/certificate holders and carry out instructions of AMCs/PFMs in respect of the investment portfolio. Throughout the process, CDC ensures regulatory compliances, protecting unit holders’ interests and maintaining confidentiality and resilience.

 

In 2010, to provide for the inherent need of the growing Capital Market, CDC took another step and introduced Custody Service for Discretionary and non-Discretionary Portfolios (Portfolio Clients) under the umbrella of its Trustee & Custodial Services.

 

In general, Portfolio Clients (including provident / gratuity funds) enjoy greater freedom and convenience through tailor made investment strategies based on specific objectives and preferences. For the purpose, clients with inadequate knowledge have direct access to research based expert guidance and customized solutions such as risk profiling, asset allocation advice and investment strategy review, provided by the Investment Advisor. Under this arrangement, Portfolio Clients prefer to appoint CDC as their independent Custodian to ensure transparency and safekeeping of their securities. Our commitment to the Custody Service is demonstrated by our continuous investment in human resource and technology to provide Portfolio Clients with swift and efficient services. The strength of our Custody Service lies in:

 

*             Settlement of investments on the advice of investment advisor

*             Safekeeping of securities

*             Reporting to clients depicting the picture of investor’s portfolio

*             Cash management and treasury functions.

 

Together, these strengths enable us to give our Portfolio Clients an unsurpassed level of support and service. The opportunity also gave us recognition in the local market under the new role of Custodian.

 

This quarter our custodian business comprising of Portfolios Clients made another history and saw the number of portfolios hit the 100 mark, with net assets worth of Rs. 24.91 billion. CDC’s major Portfolio Clients include employee benefit funds (gratuity and provident funds), high net worth individuals and separately managed corporate portfolios in the following fragmentation.

 

Description	No.  of Clients
Provident Funds	52
Gratuity Funds	13
Individuals	24
Others	21
Total Clients	110

The Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Central Depository Systems (Pvt.) Limited (CDS), its Sri Lankan counterpart.

 

The MoU signing marks another addition to CDC’s long list of foreign partnerships with members of the global securities services industry. CDC has signed MoUs with its international counterparts from across the globe and its most recent signing with CDS Sri Lanka continues its heritage of global partnerships. The MoU will formalize the relationship between the two entities by accommodating the sharing of knowledge and cooperation for the purpose of mutual benefit. Currently both entities are members of the Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository Group (ACG).

 

The signing ceremony took place at the commemoration of CDS Sri Lanka’s 25^th anniversary and was presided by Mr. Muhammad Hanif Jakhura, CEO – CDC and Mr. Vajira Kulatilaka, Chairman – CDS. Mr. Jakhura commented upon the MoU by stating that CDC hopes to not only share its success with CDS but also seeks to broaden its own horizons through knowledge-sharing.

A delegation from CFA Institute recently visited the head office of the Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited in Karachi. The delegation, welcomed by Mr. Muhammad Hanif Jakhura, CEO-CDC and Mr. Ashraf Bava, President-CFA Society, Pakistan, included Mr. Kamil Attila Köksal, CFA, Member Board of Governors, CFA Institute and Dr. Tony Tan Boon Leng, CFA, Head, Standards and Advocacy Division, Asia Pacific Region. Other dignitaries including ……. also attended the event. Senior representatives of Pakistan Capital Market were also present.

 

Mr. Muhammad Hanif Jakhura, CEO – CDC gave a detailed presentation to the attendees on the success story of CDC and its pivotal role in the development of Pakistan’s capital market. The attendees were also briefed on the business and operations of CDC’s subsidiary, ITMinds Limited.

 

The CFA Institute representatives acknowledged the positive impact of CDC on the Pakistan Capital Market. They also reaffirmed the constructive association that academic institutes like CFA Institute have with infrastructural institutions of the capital market.