SECP registers 1,070 companies in September

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has registered 1,070 new companies in September, representing a growth of 50 percent, a statement said on Thursday.

The number of registered companies has been raised to 90,722, it added.

The massive increase in incorporation is the result of the SECP’s various reforms measures, including introduction of simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, reduction in fees, assistance of incorporation by facilitation wings of CROs, etc.

Around 73 percent companies were registered as private limited companies, while around 25 percent were registered as single-member companies, it said.

Two percent were registered as public unlisted, non-profit associations, foreign companies and limited liability partnership (LLP).

The trading sector took the lead with the incorporation of 189 companies, construction 142, services 137, IT 107, tourism 83, food and beverages 45, real estate development 34, corporate agricultural farming 29, textile 28, engineering 26, education 20, transport 18, marketing and advertisement 16, healthcare and pharmaceutical 14 each, cables and electric goods 13, auto allied and paper products 12 each, logging and mining and quarrying 11 each and 109 companies were registered in other sectors, it added.

Moreover, one foreign company was also registered by the CRO Islamabad.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has introduced reforms to increase corporatisation and register companies within four hours.

Foreign investment has been reported in 34 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Australia, Belarus, China, Denmark, Germany, Iran, South Korea, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Russia, Thailand and the UK.

The highest numbers of companies, ie, 374 were registered in Islamabad, followed by 296 and 195 in Lahore and Karachi, respectively, the statement said.

The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Quetta, and Sukkur registered, 83, 43, 28, 27, 20 and four companies, respectively.