The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) during the month of July 2017 registered 814 new companies. As compared to the corresponding month of the last financial year, it represents a growth of 110 percent. The massive increase in number of new companies is the direct result of various reforms instituted by the SECP, i.e. simplification of incorporation procedure, reduction in fee, assistance of incorporation by facilitation wings of CROs etc.
Around 87 percent companies were registered as private limited companies, while around 12 percent companies were registered as single member companies. One percent of the companies were registered as public unlisted and foreign companies.
The trading sector took the lead with the incorporation of 128 companies, IT with 112, services with 110, construction with 103, tourism with 38, food and beverages with 32, education with 26, engineering with 22, auto and allied and real estate development with 19 each, corporate agricultural farming and transport with 18 each, pharmaceutical with 17, chemical and textile with 13 each, communications, fuel and energy and healthcare with 12 each. Ninety companies were registered in other sectors. Moreover, 3 foreign companies were also registered by the Karachi and Islamabad Company Registration Offices (CROs).
Foreign investment has been reported in 62 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from, Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, Ukraine and the US.
During the month, the highest numbers of companies, i.e. 275 were registered at the Islamabad CRO, followed by 246 and 201 companies registered at the Lahore CRO and Karachi CROs. The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sukkur registered 29, 33, 15, 7, 5 and 3 companies respectively.’
