ISLAMABAD (June 14 2003) : The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has initiated process to wind up 22 listed companies for failing to meet statutory requirement to hold annual general meeting at least once a year.
These include Saif Nadeem Kawasaki, Bahawalpur Textile Mills, Valika Woolen Mills, Azmat Textile Mills, Mubarak Dairies, Pakistan Northern Insurance Company, Awan Textile Mills, Tawakal Limited, Tawakal Polyester Industries, Myfip Video Industries, Norrie Textile Mills, Pakistan Dairies, Tawakkal Garments Industries, Alif Textile Industries, Schon Textile Mills, Apex Fabrics, Kaisar Arts and Kraft, Orient Straw Board, Sterling Insurance Company, Mehran Jute Mills, Sindh Alkalis and Dadabhoy Insurance.
Under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, listed companies are required to hold annual general meeting at least once a year.
The law provides that SECP would wind up any such company which fails to hold annual general meeting for two consecutive years.
Acting Chairman of SECP, Abdul Rehman Qureshi, told newsmen at a press conference that the Commission has decided to get rid of defunct companies and, in the future, only those companies would remain in the market which exist in real terms.
He said that the companies listed for liquidation were 'deadwood' as these had suspended business operations since long and were non-existent in the term of functioning.
Qureshi said that the SECP has served show-cause notices on these companies' management, which would follow filing of a petition before the court of law to fulfil legal formalities for liquidation.
He sounded confident that liquidation process of defunct companies would take place only months, not years, as was the case in the past when the law was not amended. He told a questioner that amended law requires completion of liquidation process within a year.
Qureshi said the shareholders would get share on their investment from proceedings of the companies for which a case-to-case basis formula would be followed.
He added that SECP was functioning in an autonomous manner and healthy trend at the stock exchanges was its ample proof.
