SECP registered 415 new companies and licensed 5 non-profits in December

SECP registered 415 new companies and licensed 5 non-profits in December

ISLAMABAD, Jan 10 (APP): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 415 new limited liability companies in December, raising the total corporate portfolio to 62,932 companies. Relative to the corresponding month of last year, 25% growth has been witnessed in company registration,says a statement issued by the Commission here on Friday. In addition, the SECP granted licenses to 5 non-profit associations. Around 91% of companies registered as private limited companies, while around 6% of them registered as single-member companies. About 1% of the companies have been registered as public limited companies, as foreign companies and associations under Section 42 of the 1984 Companies Ordinance, each, during the month.

The services sector took the lead in new registrations with the incorporation of 49 companies, this month, followed by trading with 47, tourism with 39, construction and information and technology with 30 each, transport with 18, communications with 17 and corporate agricultural farming with 16 companies.
The foreign investment has been witnessed in 16 new companies.  These companies have foreign investors from Austria, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Panama and the UAE.
These companies are from corporate agricultural farming, fuel and energy, information technology, mining and quarrying, power generation, services, sugar and allied, textile, trading and transport sectors.
The highest number of companies, i.e., 136, was registered at the Company Registration Office (CRO) in Lahore. It is followed by the CROs in Islamabad and Karachi, registering 109 and 102 companies respectively.
The Multan and Peshawar CROs registered 28 and 23 companies respectively, while the CROs in Faisalabad, Quetta registered 12 and 5 companies respectively.
During the month, the returns for increase in the authorized capital of 73 companies were accepted, with the total authorized capital increment of Rs9.9 billion.
In addition, 89 companies filed returns for increase in the paid-up capital to the tune of Rs 8.22 billion