SECP registers 366 new companies in June

Most firms registered in Islamabad, followed by Lahore and Karachi.

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 366 new limited liability companies in June, compared to 364 companies in the corresponding month last year, bringing the total corporate portfolio to 61,990 companies.

Islamabad saw the highest number of companies, 120, registered at the Company Registration Office (CRO) Islamabad, followed by CROs in Lahore and Karachi registering 117 and 80 companies respectively.

The Multan and Peshawar CROs registered 22 and 15 companies respectively, while the CROs in Quetta and Faisalabad registered six companies each.

Around 87% of the companies were registered as private limited companies, 7% as single member companies, 3% as associations, 2% as public limited companies and 1% as foreign companies.

The trading and services sectors have taken the lead in new registrations again with the incorporation of 46 and 45 companies respectively, followed by the IT sector with 33 companies, tourism with 31, construction and corporate agricultural farming with 18 each, communications with 16, education with 14 and textile with 12.

Investment has been made in 13 new companies by investors from Iraq, UK, US, Panama, UAE, Jordan, Germany, Spain, Bulgaria, China and Denmark. In order to prop up foreign investment, the SECP has introduced fast-track registration of companies with foreign directors.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2013.

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