SEC Achieves Record-Breaking Year in 2023, Begins 2024 with Optimism and Vigor
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that after its record performance in 2023, it is entering 2024 with “optimism and vigor” to help advance the national government’s vision of robust economic growth.
In an interview, SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said that 2023 marked a record year for the SEC. “We instituted improvements in the ease of doing business in the Philippines through our digitalization efforts, ramped up our financial literacy campaign to empower and protect investors, and explored new ways to boost the capital market,” he said. Aquino expressed optimism as the Commission approaches its 88th year in 2024, emphasizing their commitment to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision of a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society.
The SEC received a series of awards, citations, recognitions, and accreditations in 2023, reaffirming its pivotal role in championing ease of doing business, capital market development, investor protection, and good corporate governance. These accolades include being recognized for having one of the best company registration systems in the world, conferred by the annual conference of the Corporate Registers Forum in Malta. The Commission’s Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) has played a vital role in reducing the time needed to register a company from 34 to three days and enables the registration of a company in one minute and 14 seconds.
The digitalization programs of the SEC were also recognized by Mobile payments service GCash, with the Commission being honored with the Excellence in Digital Transformation Award during the GCash Digital Excellence Awards in December. Additionally, Aquino’s commitment to leading the SEC toward a digital-first world was acknowledged by research and consultancy firm Mansmith & Fielders, Inc., naming him the first-ever Public Sector Innovator in the third annual Mansmith Innovation Awards.
Meanwhile, SEC Commissioner Kelvin Lester K. Lee was named among the Asia 200 Digital Leaders in the Spark Digital Leaders Awards in Hong Kong, for his contributions to the digital transformation landscape in Southeast Asia.
Efforts toward promoting sustainability in the corporate sector earned further praise in the global stage, with the SEC receiving the Global Good Governance (3G) Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance Award from the London-based Cambridge International Finance Advisory (Cambridge IFA) for the third consecutive year. The SEC was also among the companies that received the Circle of Excellence Award for Sustainability during the Asia CEO Awards 2023.
Locally, the SEC was a leader in sustainable finance with the issuance of $10.01 billion in ASEAN Green, Social, and Sustainability (GSS) Bonds, accounting for 24 percent of the total bonds issued in the entire region during the same period.
The integrity of the financial system and the business sector was further bolstered during the year with the recertification of its ISO 9001:2015 compliance and an unmodified opinion for its financial statements in 2022 from the Commission on Audit (COA).
The SEC’s achievements in 2023 have laid a solid foundation for a promising 2024, as it continues to play a critical role in the country’s economic growth and development.
