Newly-appointed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Francis Lim is taking decisive actions to modernize the country’s capital markets, with a focus on reforms that promote transparency, reduce bureaucracy and make it easier for businesses to participate in the formal economy.
Since assuming office in June, Lim has pushed for structural changes aimed at restoring trust in financial markets. “At the SEC, we are doing our part to make integrity the default, not the exception,” he said.
Among the most significant changes is a 30-percent reduction in fees for certain filings and documents submitted to the SEC. This move is designed to make compliance more accessible, especially for smaller companies. “We reduced fees for each document by 30 percent, making disclosures and other documents more affordable,” Lim said.
The SEC also implemented rule changes to eliminate red tape, including streamlining processes and removing unnecessary regulatory burdens that have long discouraged companies from listing or expanding their operations.
“We approved rule-cutting, red tape, and eliminating the unnecessary. We are promoting digital processes under the Securities Regulation Code,” said Lim.
Digitalization is a key part of Lim’s reform strategy. By moving services and transactions online, the SEC aims to make regulatory compliance faster, more transparent, and less prone to corruption or delay.
Capital markets
Another major initiative is aimed at encouraging small businesses to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). To support this, the SEC is now offering a 50-percent discount on listing fees.
Lim, who headed the local bourse from 2004 to 2010, said the incentive is not only about financial relief but also about raising governance standards. “We have granted a 50-percent discount to incentivize small businesses to join the formal economy and list themselves on the PSE to improve their governance and ethical practices,” he said.
This move will hopefully enable the Philippines to catch up after falling behind neighboring countries whose bourses have become bigger than the Philippines’.
He noted that Vietnam, whose stock market is much younger, has outranked the Philippines in terms of the number of listed companies, market capitalization and stock market value turnover.
More reforms
Internally, Lim has also set a clear tone for leadership within the SEC. He has asked all employees to adopt three core principles: serve with integrity, act with urgency and lead with purpose.
“These reforms are not just process improvements—they are signals that ethical leadership can, and must, be built into the very architecture of our markets,” he said.
Lim said these efforts are just the beginning. More reforms are expected, particularly in improving execution and ensuring that rules are applied consistently and fairly.
“When I accepted the SEC Chairmanship—after months of deep reflection—I saw it not simply as a position, but as a calling,” Lim said.
“In the spirit of servant leadership, for the sake of our country and the generations to come, I want to help create markets that earn investors’ trust, that our companies depend on, and our nation can be proud of,” he said.
Through these reforms, Lim aims to transform the SEC into a more agile, responsive and trustworthy institution—one that enables growth while holding companies to the highest ethical standards.
