SECP registers 4,761 new companies in August, IT sector leads

Pakistan's corporate regulator registered 4,761 new companies in August, taking the total number of registered companies in the country to 311,765, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said Friday.

The SECP said 99.9% of company registrations during the month were completed online, reflecting growing adoption of digital services and business formalization.

Three foreign companies also entered Pakistan's corporate sector during August, while 134 foreign investors invested in newly registered companies. Of those investors, 106 were Chinese nationals, according to the regulator.

Private companies accounted for 2,762 of the new registrations, while 1,846 were single-member companies.

The information technology sector led new registrations with 872 companies, followed by trading with 732, services with 601 and construction with 295. The tourism sector added 232 new companies during the month.

Punjab recorded the highest number of new registrations at 2,547, followed by Islamabad with 843, Sindh with 702 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 407. Gilgit-Baltistan registered 151 new companies, while 111 were registered in Balochistan.

The SECP said the increase in company registrations reflected greater business confidence and the continued digital transformation of corporate services. The SECP chairman said the rising number of registrations demonstrated growing confidence among entrepreneurs and investors, and showed the impact of the regulator's efforts to facilitate business incorporation through digital platforms.