Company incorporation increases to 143,416: SECP

Company incorporation increases to 143,416: SECP

ISLAMABAD: Total number of companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has increased to 143,416 with new incorporation of 1,597 in May 2021, a statement said on Friday.

According to the statement SECP registered 1,597 new companies in May 2021, witnessing a growth of 107 percent as compared to corresponding period last year. The total number of registered companies increased to 143,416.

This is for the second consistent month that over 100 percent growth in incorporation of new companies is being witnessed.

The trend of growth is attributed to digitalization/automation, introduction of simplified combined processes for name reservation and incorporation, and facilitation extended by the SECP’s newly established Business Centre.

In May, around 99 percent companies were registered online, 36 percent of applicants completed the incorporation process same day while 175 foreign users were also registered from overseas.

During the month of May, 68 percent companies had been private limited, 28 percent single member and remaining 4 percent comprise public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, trade organizations and limited liability partnerships (LLP).

The construction & real estate sector took the lead with incorporation of 252 companies, while companies in other sectors include: trading 247, I.T 216, services 149, e-commerce 64, food & beverages 59, education 51,  corporate agricultural farming 50, market & development 39, textile 37, tourism  34, chemical 33, healthcare 31, engineering 29, auto & allied 27, logging 25, pharmaceutical 24, mining & quarrying 21, broadcasting & telecasting, and fuel and energy 19 each, cables & electric goods, paper & board, and transport 16 each, cosmetics & toiletries 14, power generation 12, communication 11 and remining 67 companies were registered in other sectors.

Foreign investment has been reported in 48 new companies from Azerbaijan, China, Denmark, Germany, Korea South, Kuwait, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, UAE, the UK and the US.

The highest numbers of companies, i.e. 519 were registered in Islamabad, followed by 513 and 250 companies registered in Lahore and Karachi respectively. The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Quetta and Sukkur registered 116, 88, 62, 36, 11 and 02 companies respectively.