SECP registers 2,463 new companies in Oct

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said on Monday it registered 2,463 new companies in October, bringing the total number of registered companies to 205,456. The SECP said the new companies had a cumulative capitalisation of Rs4.24 billion, and that 99.6 percent of them were registered online.

The information technology sector led the incorporation with 326 companies, followed by trading with 322, services with 298, and real estate development and construction with 290, the SECP said in a statement.

Other sectors that saw significant registration activity included education, tourism, food and beverages, e-commerce, mining and quarrying, corporate agricultural farming, marketing and advertisement, textile, pharmaceutical, transport, engineering, chemical, power generation, healthcare, cosmetics and toiletries, broadcasting and telecasting, and lodging.

The SECP said it had integrated its eService with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other provincial departments, allowing 2,281 companies to register with the FBR, 61 with the Employees Old Age Benefit Institute, 27 with the provincial social security institutions, and 34 with the excise and taxation departments.

The SECP also said it had received foreign investment in 75 new companies from 22 countries, mainly from China, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.