Islamabad: In a significant growth for Pakistan’s corporate sector, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered a record-breaking 2,933 new companies in August 2024. This represents a 3% increase from the previous year and marks the highest number of registrations in a single month, bringing the total number of companies registered with SECP to 228,494.
According to Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the majority of these new companies, approximately 56%, were registered as private limited companies, while 41% were set up as single member companies. The remaining 3% comprised public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, and limited liability partnerships. Notably, nearly all registrations, about 99.8%, were conducted online, highlighting the effectiveness of SECP’s digital registration system.
The sectors showing the most significant incorporation activity include information technology with 431 new companies, followed by trading with 401, and services with 367 companies. Real estate development and construction also saw substantial growth with 269 new registrations, while the tourism sector added 144 new entities. Other notable sectors include ecommerce, food and beverages, education, and healthcare.
Additionally, the SECP report highlighted the presence of foreign investment in 63 of the newly registered companies. The investments mainly originated from countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, China, Germany, Libya, Malaysia, Sudan, Sir Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, and Vietnam, with the largest amount of foreign capital coming from China, which invested in 45 new companies.
This surge in company registrations and the significant involvement of foreign investors underscore a growing confidence in Pakistan’s business environment, possibly heralding a period of robust economic activity and international collaboration within the country’s corporate sector.