ISLAMABAD: In August 2018 despite Eid holidays, the SECP registered 1,101 new companies – representing 17 percent growth over the corresponding month in the last fiscal, raising the number of registered companies to 89,702. The massive increase is a result of the SECP’s multiple reforms measures – including the introduction of a simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, reduction of the fee, assistance of incorporation by facilitation wings of CROs etc.
Around 74 percent of these companies were registered as private limited companies, while around 23 percent were sole proprietorships, and another three percent 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 with 165, services with 129, IT with 119, tourism with 68, food and beverages with 38, engineering with 35, real estate development with 31, textile with 24, education with 23, marketing and development with 22, corporate agricultural farming with 21, pharmaceutical with 20, healthcare with 19, auto and allied, and transport with 18 each, logging with 12, fuel and energy with 11 and 139 companies were registered in sundry sectors. Moreover, five foreign companies were also registered by CROs in Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore.
Foreign investment has been reported in 52 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from, China, France, Germany, South Korea, New Zealand, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UK, the US, and Yemen.
The highest numbers of companies, 361 were registered in Islamabad, followed by 284 and 263 companies registered in Lahore and Karachi respectively. The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Sukkur registered 72, 41, 38, 19, 18 and five companies respectively.
