Daily Times

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has registered 2,651 new companies in January 2024, showing an increase of 10 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.

The total number of registered companies now stands at 212,108. Total capitalization (paid-up capital) with regard to newly incorporated companies is Rs5.2 billion, said a news release.

In January, around 58 percent of companies were registered as private limited companies, 38 percent as single member companies, and 4 percent as public unlisted companies, not-for-profit associations, trade organizations, limited liability partnerships, and foreign companies.

Five foreign companies also registered their place of business in Pakistan. Around 138 foreign applicants were registered from overseas through eServices. Almost 99.85 percent of companies were registered online.

The information technology sector took the lead with regards to incorporation with 356 companies, trading with 319, real estate development and construction, and services with 277 each, tourism with 145, education with 116, food and beverages with 94, corporate agricultural farming with 93, e-commerce with 72, engineering with 65, chemical with 61, power generation with 58, marketing & advertisement, and textile with 55 each.

Furthermore, pharmaceutical, mining & quarrying with 53 each, healthcare with 48, fuel and energy with 45, transport with 44, cosmetics & toiletries with 33, communication with 28, broadcasting & telecasting with 27, lodging, and auto and allied with 22 each, cables & electrical goods with 19, paper & board with 18, and 196 companies were registered in other sectors.

Foreign investment has been reported in 68 new companies, having foreign investors from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Hungry, Japan, Malta, Nigeria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, UAE, UK, Ukraine, and the United States (US).

The major chunk of investment was received from China with 37 companies, Germany, Singapore and US with 4 companies each, Afghanistan with 03, Canada, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom (UK) with 2 each, and in 10 companies from other countries.

As a result of successful integration of SECP with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and various provincial departments, 2,552 companies were registered with FBR for registration of National Tax Number (NTN), 42 companies with Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), 28 companies with PESSI/SESSI and 34 companies with Excise and Taxation department.