Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Francis Lim rolled out comprehensive capital market reforms since assuming office in June 2025, targeting bureaucracy reduction and investor confidence restoration. The reforms address the Philippines' lagging capital market through digitalization, fee reductions, and strict corporate governance enforcement. Lim, who previously served as Philippine Stock Exchange president and CEO from 2004 to 2010, implemented measures including a 50% slash in critical document fees, expansion of the OneSEC online portal from 30 to 83 business categories, and clearing of over 26,000 backlogged corporate applications. The initiatives saved the public over P110 million on registration fees and reduced public offering review turnarounds to 35-40 days under a strict 45-day cap. These reforms aim to remove unnecessary manual follow-ups, prevent corruption, and provide financial breathing room for emerging local enterprises while rebuilding market confidence through systemic changes.
Francis Lim Brings PSE Leadership Experience to SEC Role
Lim served as president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange from 2004 to 2010. During his six-year tenure, he helped lead critical capital market policy reforms and launched key corporate governance initiatives, including the legislation and introduction of Real Estate Investment Trusts to the Philippines. He aided in the enactment of the Personal Equity and Retirement Account Act to drive voluntary retirement savings and capital deployment.
Under his PSE leadership, Lim spearheaded the launching of the Maharlika Board good governance platform to incentivize listed companies to match regional, world-class transparency standards through strict corporate governance. He also initiated a long-term push to integrate mandatory financial literacy into high school and college curriculums. After his PSE stint, Lim served as senior partner and senior legal counsel at Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices, specializing in corporate law, bankruptcy, securities regulation, and litigation. He served as president and trustee of the Shareholders Association of the Philippines.
SEC Implements Real-Time Tracking and Expands Digital Registration
The SEC rolled out a real-time application tracking system and expanded the OneSEC (One-day Submission and E-registration of Companies) online portal from 30 to 83 business categories. The expansion aims to prevent corruption and reduce public offering review turnarounds to 35-40 days under a strict 45-day cap. The agency implemented a "deemed approved" rule for registrations, successfully clearing more than 26,000 backlogged corporate applications.
The SEC slashed fees by 50% on critical document fees to lessen the financial entry barrier for new ventures and froze some fees on regulatory processes. The move saved the public over P110 million on registration fees and approximately P34 million on registration discounts to over 13,000 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises. Lim created sector-specific capital market fast lanes, including SEC FARMS for agribusiness, SEC HOPES for healthcare, SEC POWERS for energy, and SEC RENT for real-estate-related offerings.
SEC Expands REIT Framework to Include Infrastructure and Data Centers
Lim overhauled REIT beyond its traditional framework, expanding the type of eligible assets to include infrastructure, ICT assets, energy assets, data centers, toll roads, airports, ports, and warehouses. The expansion helped pave the way for PLDT's VITRO data center REIT IPO of up to ₱24.2 billion. Rules on public ownership limits were relaxed to temporarily allow a REIT's public float to dip below the minimum public ownership requirement when a sponsor injects new income-producing assets in exchange for shares, provided the REIT discloses the dip and submits a clear timetable to restore its public float.
Philippines Introduces First ASEAN Green Equity Guidelines
The SEC issued the Philippine Green Equity Guidelines to help publicly listed companies attract sustainability-focused investors. A first of their kind in ASEAN, the guidelines certify that a corporation's core operations and investments are substantially aligned with credible, climate-positive economic activities. The certification enabled Maynilad and Alternergy to receive Philippine Green Equity labels.
SEC Mandates Declassification of Common Shares
Lim issued SEC Memorandum Circular No. 10 (Series of 2025), mandating all listed firms to declassify their common shares and scrap the obsolete Class A and Class B common share dual structures. The objective is to ease foreign investment entry and equalize investor voting power. The SEC rolled out blockchain-based validation mechanisms for official documents to curb corporate forgeries.
SEC Sets Nine-Year Maximum Tenure for Independent Directors
The SEC strictly implemented absolute term limits for independent directors to break up entrenched, decades-long board influence and prevent conflicts of interest. Independent directors are mandated to have a one-year term, subject to a maximum cumulative tenure of nine years in the same company. After nine years, the director is permanently barred from re-election as an independent director. The same circular introduced the rule that a broker may be elected to the PSE board for a term of one year, subject to a maximum cumulative period of 10 years only, whether consecutive or intermittent.
SEC Launches Strategic Sandbox with 24 Applications
Lim operationalized the SEC Strategic Sandbox, with 24 applications including those from Pluang, GCash, Atin Tayo, and BlockShoals covering foreign equities, tokenized real-world assets, crypto-asset intermediaries, crypto derivatives and margin trading, initial coin offerings, and electricity derivatives. The SEC issued the first regulatory framework for sukuk in the Philippines, covering issuance, registration, disclosure, permissible structures, and continuing obligations for Shari'ah-compliant financing.
The SEC is studying a broader roadmap for alternative investment products and derivatives, including options, futures, ETFs, Global Philippine Depositary Receipts, and a possible commodity futures market. Lim is pursuing reforms to crowdfunding and alternative fundraising to provide enterprises with more accessible financing options beyond traditional bank lending. The SEC allowed open-end unit-issuing investment companies to operate umbrella funds with multiple sub-funds, giving fund managers greater flexibility and investors more cost-efficient diversification options.
SEC Files Criminal Complaint Against Villar Land Holdings
Lim filed a criminal complaint against Villar Land Holdings and its core officers for alleged insider trading and market manipulation. The case represents the SEC's enforcement of strict regulatory philosophy of accountability and impartial enforcement. According to Lim, strict accountability is imperative to attain true investor protection while market confidence can only be earned by demonstrating that no powerful individual or political network who violated the securities laws is immune from prosecution. The SEC chairman is also involved in an intra-corporate dispute among the heirs of the Lopez business empire, to which he admits having some familial relations.
FAQ
What reforms did Francis Lim implement at the SEC since June 2025?
Francis Lim implemented comprehensive reforms including a 50% reduction in critical document fees, expansion of the OneSEC online portal from 30 to 83 business categories, and clearing of over 26,000 backlogged corporate applications. The reforms reduced public offering review turnarounds to 35-40 days under a strict 45-day cap and saved the public over P110 million on registration fees. He also mandated declassification of Class A and Class B common shares, set nine-year maximum tenure limits for independent directors, and introduced the Philippine Green Equity Guidelines, a first in ASEAN.
How did the SEC expand the REIT framework under Lim's leadership?
The SEC expanded eligible REIT assets to include infrastructure, ICT assets, energy assets, data centers, toll roads, airports, ports, and warehouses. The expansion enabled PLDT's VITRO data center REIT IPO of up to ₱24.2 billion. The SEC relaxed rules on public ownership limits to temporarily allow a REIT's public float to dip below the minimum requirement when a sponsor injects new income-producing assets in exchange for shares, provided the REIT discloses the dip and submits a clear timetable to restore its public float.
What enforcement actions has the SEC taken against market violations?
The SEC filed a criminal complaint against Villar Land Holdings and its core officers for alleged insider trading and market manipulation. Chairman Lim stated that strict accountability is imperative to attain true investor protection and that market confidence can only be earned by demonstrating that no powerful individual or political network who violated securities laws is immune from prosecution. The SEC operationalized the Strategic Sandbox with 24 applications and issued the first regulatory framework for sukuk in the Philippines.
