The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 27,542 new companies during FY 2023-24, raising the total number of registered companies to 222,697. 58% were registered as private limited companies, while 39 % were registered as single member companies, said a press release issued here on Saturday. The remaining 3% registered as public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, guarantee limited companies, trade organizations, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and foreign companies. Around 99.8% of companies were registered online. Regarding incorporation, the information technology sector took the lead with 4129 companies, trading with 3666, services with 3302 real estate development and construction with 2992, tourism with 1346, education with 1177, food and beverages with 1103, ecommerce with 942, corporate agricultural farming with 780, marketing and advertisement with 620, textile with 589, mining and quarrying with 574, power generation with 560, engineering with 547, transport with 523, pharmaceutical with 497, chemical with 457, healthcare with 434, fuel & energy with 376, cosmetics & toiletries with 352, logging with 268, communications with 257, auto and allied with 242, broadcasting & telecasting with 215, paper & board with 203, cables and electric goods with 169, steel & allied with 133, sports allied with 121, arts and culture with 111, wood & wood products with 97, leather & tanneries with 68, Parlor and other related services with 64, foot ware with 51, tobacco with 39, sugar and allied with 34, glass and ceramics with 20, vanaspati & allied with 19, finance & banking with 17, carpets and rugs, cement, and insurance with 11 each, and 415 companies were registered in other sectors. Foreign investment has been reported in 688 new companies by investors from China, Afghanistan, US, UK, Germany, UAE, Australia, Turkey, Nigeria, Norway, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, Denmark, South Korea, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain etc. The major chunk of investment was received from China with 393 companies, followed by US with 34, Afghanistan with 32, UK with 27, Germany with 20, UAE with 13, Australia, and Turkey with 10 each, Nigeria with 9, Norway with 8, Canada and Saudi Arabia with 7 each. Furthermore, Egypt, Malaysia, and Singapore with 6 each, Denmark, South Korea, the Netherlands, Russia, and Spain with 5 each. 75 companies received investment from other countries. Moreover, 31 foreign companies from China, UAE, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Bahrain, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea South, Norway, Saudi Arabia and US have established places of business in Pakistan during the financial year.