SEC Chief Francis Lim Rolls Out Capital Market Reforms on July 13, Clears 26K Backlog Applications

On July 13, according to Rappler, Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Francis Lim unveiled sweeping capital market reforms aimed at rebuilding investor confidence. The initiatives include streamlining corporate registration through the expanded OneSEC portal, cutting document fees by 50%, and reducing public offering reviews to 35-40 days. These measures cleared over 26,000 backlogged applications and saved the public P110 million in registration fees.

Lim also expanded REIT eligibility to include infrastructure and data centers, enabling PLDT's VITRO data center REIT IPO of up to P24.2 billion. Additional reforms mandate term limits for independent directors, introduce Philippine Green Equity Guidelines for sustainability-focused companies, and establish sector-specific fast lanes for agribusiness, healthcare, energy, and real estate. The SEC is operationalizing a Strategic Sandbox covering tokenized assets and crypto derivatives with 24 pending applications.