PSX Proposes Fee Reductions and Shelf Registration to Boost Debt Market Access

July 02, 2026 (MLN): The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has announced a comprehensive set of amendments to Chapters 5B and 5C of its regulations, aimed at overhauling the listing framework for both publicly issued and privately placed debt securities.

The PSX has invited written commentary from banks, consultants and other market participants, setting a strict public‑comment deadline of 9 July 2026.

The proposed changes seek to lower entry barriers for corporate issuers through substantial fee reductions and waivers, while introducing modern mechanisms such as shelf registration to deepen Pakistan’s debt capital market.

A key operational upgrade is the introduction of shelf registration for debt instruments under both public and private frameworks. An issuer will register a single primary offering document and can subsequently launch multiple tranches without seeking fresh approvals, provided there is no material change in the issuer’s business model, utilization of proceeds or financial performance. Listing fees apply only to the first tranche.

PSX will also eliminate the prescribed contents of the Information Memorandum (IM) from its regulatory chapters, recognizing that IMs are tailored for pre‑IPO institutional investors and not required for secondary‑market participation.

For privately placed debt securities governed by Chapter 5C, the PSX proposes to increase the maximum allocation for a Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) from 20 % to 30 % of the total issue size, responding to stakeholder requests for greater flexibility.

Fee rationalization will be aggressive: initial and annual listing fees for both short‑term and long‑term instruments will be fully waived. For privately placed debt, the initial listing fee, as well as the annual fee, will also be waived, with a 25 % discount remaining applicable to issuances by state‑owned enterprises (SOEs) and government‑owned entities.

Note: Waivers for initial listing fees continue to apply to issuances by SOEs and government‑owned entities, while a 25 % discount remains on their annual listing fees.

Market participants and interested parties have until 9 July 2026 to submit their comments and views.

The proposed amendments were communicated via an official notification from the Exchange.

Source link