The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 1,290 new companies in February. As compared to the corresponding month of the last financial year, it represents a growth of 26 percent raising the number of registered companies to 96,510.
The massive increase is the result of the SECP’s various reforms measures, i.e. introduction of a simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, one window facility for company incorporation and NTN generation, reduction of the fee, the assistance of incorporation by facilitation wings of CROs etc. Around 75 percent of companies were registered as private limited companies, while around 22 percent were registered as single member companies. Three percent were registered as public unlisted companies and limited liability partnerships (LLP).
The trading sector took the lead with the incorporation of 195 companies, construction with 166, services with 148, I.T. with 139, tourism with 119, food and beverages with 60, real estate development with 50, corporate agricultural farming with 45, education with 32, chemical, marketing and advertisement, and transport with 27 each, engineering, and fuel and energy with 24 each, pharmaceutical with 23, textile with 21, healthcare, and mining and quarrying with 20 each, communication with 15, auto and allied with 14, broadcasting and telecasting 13, logging 12, cables and electric goods with 11 and 58 companies were registered in other sectors.
Foreign investment has been reported in 39 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Argentina, China, Denmark, Germany, Jordan, Kenya, Korea South, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, and the US. The highest numbers of companies, i.e. 468 were registered in Islamabad, followed by 322 and 240 companies registered in Lahore and Karachi respectively. The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Faisalabad, Quetta, and Sukkur registered 81, 67, 45, 39, 24 and 4 companies respectively.
