More than 3,000 companies registered in 2010

The Securities and Exchange Commission registered 3,151 companies – a 12% increase from the 2,762 registered in 2009.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 3,151 companies during the outgoing year – a 12 per cent increase from the 2,762 registered in 2009.

According to figures released by the SECP on Friday, new registrations included 2,881 private companies, 142 single-member companies, 46 public unlisted companies and 42 foreign companies among others.

The country’s total corporate portfolio as of December 31 stood at 57,689 registered entities.

The total authorised capital and paid-up capital of the companies registered during last year was Rs43.5 billion and Rs16.9 billion, respectively.

During the same period, 910 companies increased their authorised capital with an aggregate increment of Rs163.16 billion, while 171 companies raised their paid-up capital with the total increment amounting to Rs38.67 billion.

The number of new registrations has gone up from the preceding year because of SECP’s online registration facilitation mechanism - eServices, which has made the registration process simpler and encouraged companies to abide by SECP regulations.

Almost 40 per cent of the companies were registered online, indicating the growing acceptability of the platform.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2011.