In May 2023, 2,539 new businesses were registered by Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), increasing the total number of registered companies to 194,466. The firms that were established in May have a combined paid-up capital (capitalization) of Rs. 2.7 billion.
A little more than 57% of firms were registered as private limited companies, 40% as single-member enterprises, while LLPs, not-for-profit organisations, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) made up 4% of all registered businesses. Almost 99.7% of companies registered online. There are 65 international candidates among the new registrations.
The most new businesses were incorporated in the information technology sector (407), then in commerce (339), real estate development & construction (331), and services (287). The food and beverage industry saw the incorporation of 112 businesses, together with 102 in the tourism, 81 in the education, and 66 in the e-commerce sectors. Other sectors saw the incorporation of 814 businesses.
2,439 businesses were registered with FBR for NTN registration, 63 companies with EOBI, 46 companies with PESSI/SESSI, and 57 firms with the excise and taxes department as a result of the merger of SECP with FBR and several provincial ministries.
81 new enterprises have disclosed foreign investment, with foreign investors from Afghanistan, Australia, China, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. China got the largest amount of investment, consisting of 47 firms, followed by the UK with 05 companies, the US with 4, Turkey with 3 companies, Afghanistan with 2 companies, Indonesia with 2 companies, Russia with 2 companies, Thailand with 2 companies, and 11 companies from other nations.
For immediate answers to questions about name availability and the incorporation procedure, the SECP also has a dedicated WhatsApp facility, and this month, 1,290 enquiries were answered with a satisfaction rate of 97%.