The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 2,847 new companies in the month of August 2023, taking the total number of registered companies in the country to 200,629. The incorporations recorded 20.6% increase as compared to the same period last year and 99.7% were registered online.  The total capitalization of these companies was recorded at Rs. 3.5 billion. Moreover, as a result of integration of SECP’s registration system with FBR and various provincial departments, 2,776 companies were registered with FBR for registration of NTN, 83 companies with EOBI, 46 companies with PESSI/SESSI, and 49 companies with excise and taxation department.

Out of the total incorporations, the information technology sector took the lead with 415 companies, followed by trading with 392, real estate development & construction (357), services (324),  tourism (125), mining & quarrying (119), ecommerce (111), education (98), food  & beverages (90), corporate agricultural farming (83), textile (59), marketing & advertisement (58), engineering (47), transport (43), healthcare (42), pharmaceutical (41), chemical (41), power generation (38), cosmetics & toiletries (34), auto & allied (30), lodging  (29), broadcasting & telecasting  (27), communications (22) paper & board (22),  cables & electrical goods (13) and 191 companies were registered in other sectors.

Foreign investment has been reported in 69 new companies, with foreign investors from Afghanistan, Australia, China, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the US, and Uzbekistan. A major chunk of investment was received from China with investment in 33 companies, trailed by the US with 9, Afghanistan and the UAE with 4 each, Australia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, and Russia with 2 each, and investment in 7 companies from other countries. Moreover, in order to timely address any incorporation related queries, SECP's WhatsApp service handled 1,305 queries related to name availability and incorporation, having overall satisfaction rate of 96% during the month of August.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)