After a year of focusing on cutting regulatory costs and streamlining its processes, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now getting down to implementing reforms that will make it easier to start businesses, raise capital, and improve liquidity in the Philippine market.

In a press conference on Monday, Aug. 24, SEC Chairman Francis E. Lim said that the commission is pursuing broader structural reforms in the second year of his term, including the proposed One Business Start Date, separate regulatory frameworks for debt and equity offerings, and market-making rules for listed securities.

“We have made progress in reducing regulatory friction, but there are still structural barriers that prevent businesses from starting faster and companies from tapping the capital market more efficiently,” he noted.

Thus, Lim said, “Our next task is to address these barriers and build a market that is easier to access, more liquid, and more competitive.”

Among the SEC’s proposals is One Business Start Date, which will allow companies to begin commercial operations upon securing their SEC registration or other primary regulatory license while completing other government permits in parallel.

The proposal seeks to shorten the period between company registration and the actual start of business operations.

“What we have proposed is, and this can be done only through an executive order (EO)… Once we register a company with a secondary license from other supervising or regulatory agencies, that business can already start its commercial operations while [having] pending applications with SSS [Social Security System], Pag-IBIG [Home Development Mutual Fund], and so forth. I think that will be a game changer,” Lim explained.

The SEC has already expanded its digital services and imposed internal processing timelines, including a “deemed approved” policy for applications that go beyond prescribed periods.

It has also reduced fees for corporate document requests by a cumulative 62.5 percent from 2023 rates.

Lim said the SEC is also working with the World Bank to overhaul the public offering framework by separating regulatory requirements for debt and equity securities.

The review seeks to make disclosure requirements more proportionate to the type and risks of securities being offered, making capital raising more accessible to companies.

The commission is likewise working with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) on a market-making framework for publicly listed securities to improve trading activity and liquidity. It is also reviewing the rules on margin trading as another mechanism for improving market liquidity.

Lim is also looking at possible refinements to the personal equity and retirement account (PERA) framework to make the program more attractive to both employers and employees and encourage greater participation in the capital market.

During Lim’s first year at the SEC, measures introduced included a five-year shelf registration framework, tiered minimum public ownership (MPO) requirements, expanded real estate investment trust (REIT) rules, Sukuk regulations, and Southeast Asia’s first green equity guidelines.

The SEC also widened financing options for smaller enterprises through crowdfunding and sector-specific programs for hospitals, agribusinesses, and other priority industries.

The commission is now developing a Philippine capital market master plan with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to consolidate its reforms into a long-term strategy for expanding access to capital and improving the competitiveness of the domestic market.

The plan forms part of the SEC’s goal of positioning the Philippines among Southeast Asia’s leading capital markets by 2030.