CDC announces closure of ‘Baynaami’ accounts in Pakistan
Pakistan Times Business & Commerce Desk

KARACHI: The Central Depository Company of Pakistan today announced the closure of its group facility effecting June-1, 2005 in compliance with a directive by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

A company statement said this has been an important milestone in implementing the reform agenda laid down by SECP aimed at achieving impenetrable transparency in settlement mechanisms.

The Group Accounts commonly known as ‘Baynaami’ accounts, were used by participants to keep securities of those clients, who did no want to disclose their identity.

This measure will go long way in moving towards proper documentation of the capital market dealings as there has been a persistent effort to bring about transparency and credibility to the market over the year.

Almost all the securities in these accounts were moved to the beneficial owners of the securities in efficiently and conveniently through the Central Depository System (CDS). Movement of such high volumes of securities in such short time would have been unimaginable without such a system.

Over the year, CDC has made every possible effort to in due confidence in the investors who are the life blood of the Capital Market. CDC has been playing a significant role in facilitating investors through its specialized Investor Account Services (IAS) tailored to the needs of small investors.

‘The number of Investor Accounts has grown to about 25,000 since the launch of the service in August 1999, with a growth of 54% since Jan 01, 2005 the number of securities in IAS a line is over 5 billion, with a market value reaching up to Rs. 200 billion, which shows the investors’ trust in CDC’s service,’ says a CDC representative.●