ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has (SECP) experienced a surge in new company registrations.
A total of 2,847 new companies registered in the month of August 2023, bringing the total number of registered companies in the country to 200,629.
This substantial increase in incorporations reflects a remarkable growth rate of 20.6% compared to the same period in the previous year. Impressively, 99.7% of these new registrations done online. The combined capitalization of these companies amounted to Rs. 3.5 billion.
Furthermore, SECP’s integration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and various provincial departments facilitated the registration of 2,776 companies with FBR for National Tax Number (NTN) registration, 83 companies with EOBI, 46 companies with PESSI/SESSI, and 49 companies with the excise and taxation department, said a press release.
IT Sector Dominates SECP Company Registrations List
Among the newly registered companies, the information technology sector led the way with 415 companies, followed by trading (392), real estate development and construction (357), services (324), tourism (125), mining and quarrying (119), and e-commerce (111).
Similarly, Education sector recorded (98) companies registration, food and beverages (90), corporate agricultural farming (83), textile (59), marketing and advertisement (58), engineering (47), transport (43), healthcare (42), pharmaceutical (41), chemical (41), cosmetics and toiletries (34), power generation (38), broadcasting and telecasting (27), auto and allied (30), lodging (29), paper and board (22) and communications (22).
The press release said that cables and electrical goods (13), while 191 companies registered in other sectors.
Foreign investment featured prominently, with 69 new companies receiving foreign investments from countries such as Afghanistan, China, Australia, Egypt, Norway, Russia, Germany, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UK, UAE, US, and Uzbekistan. China led in foreign investments with 33 companies, followed by the US with 9. Afghanistan and the UAE both had 4 investments each, while Australia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, and Russia each had 2. Additionally, 7 companies received investments from other countries.
To ensure efficient responses to incorporation-related queries, SECP’s WhatsApp service handled 1,305 queries pertaining to name availability and incorporation. The service maintained an impressive overall satisfaction rate of 96% during the month of August.
