Process Simplification, facilitation of the public, and the digitalization of incorporation processes have led to an extraordinary growth of 186 percent in the incorporation of new companies in April 2021.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 2,185 new companies in April 2021, which is 186 percent higher than the same month last year, raising the total number of registered companies to 141,805.
Around 99 percent of these companies were registered online, 29 percent of the applicants had completed the incorporation process the same day, and 220 foreign users were registered from overseas.
The SECP Chairman, Aamir Khan, attributed the trend of this growth to digitalization and automation, the introduction of a simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, a very low level of fees, and the assistance provided for incorporation by the newly established Business Centre.
The April incorporation included 67 percent private limited companies; 29 percent single member companies; and the remaining four percent were public unlisted companies, not-for-profit associations, trade organizations, foreign companies, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs).
For the first time, the IT sector took the lead with the registration of 194 new companies in a month. It was followed by the trading sector with the registration of 180 new companies, construction with 117, import and export with 115, and consultancy services with 110.
Foreign investment has been reported in 47 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from the USA, China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the UAE, Greece, Turkey, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Syria, the UK, Hong Kong, and Australia.
The highest number of companies (736) was registered in Islamabad; followed by 667, 378, and 151 companies in Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar, respectively. The CROs in Multan, Faisalabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Quetta, and Sukkur registered 131, 48, 48, 23, and 3 companies respectively.
Courtesy: Pro Pakistani