Pakistan registers nearly 4,000 new companies in Jan

Pakistan’s corporate sector expanded in January as the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 3,881 new companies during the month, the regulator said Thursday.

The new incorporations brought total registered companies in the country to 283,540. The newly formed firms reported cumulative paid-up capital of PKR 8.4 billion.

The SECP said 82 of the newly incorporated companies attracted foreign investment from investors representing China, the United States, Afghanistan, Australia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Palau, South Africa, Albania, Denmark, Germany, Malaysia, South Korea, Spain and Ukraine.

Nearly all registrations — 99.9% — were completed online through the SECP’s eZfile system.

Private limited companies accounted for 59% of the new registrations, while single-member companies made up 38%. The remaining 3% consisted of public unlisted companies, not-for-profit organizations and limited liability partnerships.

Punjab recorded the highest number of incorporations with 1,998 companies, representing 52% of the total. The Islamabad Capital Territory followed with 747 companies, or 19%, while Sindh registered 601 companies, or 15%. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for 343 companies, or 9%, followed by Gilgit-Baltistan with 127 companies, or 3%, and Balochistan with 65 companies, or 2%.

By sector, information technology and e-commerce led with 729 new companies. Trading followed with 613 registrations, services with 494 and real estate development and construction with 347.

Other sectors included tourism and transport with 234 companies, food and beverages with 183, education with 145 and mining and quarrying with 100. Marketing and advertising recorded 95 new firms, communications 83, textiles 77 and corporate agricultural farming 75.

Pharmaceuticals accounted for 65 new companies, healthcare 62, engineering 60, fuel and energy 55 and auto and allied industries 45. An additional 419 companies were registered across sectors including chemicals, cosmetics and toiletries, cables and electrical goods, and paper and board, the SECP said.