Companies’ incorporation 186% up due to digitalization

ISLAMABAD: Process Simplification, facilitation to the public, and digitalization of incorporation processes have led to the extraordinary growth of 186% in the incorporation of new companies in April 2021.

The SECP, in April, has registered a total of 2,185 new companies, 186% higher as compared to the same month last year, raising the total number of registered companies to 141,805. In April, SECP registered around 99% of companies online, 29% of applicants completed the incorporation process the same day while it registered 220 foreign users from overseas.

Aamir Khan, the Chairman SECP attributed the trend of growth to digitalization and automation, the introduction of a simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, a very low level of fees, and assistance provided for incorporation by the newly established Business Centre.

The April incorporation included 67% private limited companies, 29 % single-member companies, and the remaining 4%  public unlisted companies, not-for-profit associations, trade organizations, foreign companies, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

The IT sector, for the first time, took lead with the registration of 194 new companies in a month. The IT sector was followed by the trading sector with the registration of 180 new companies, construction with 117, import & export with 115, and consultancy services with 110.

As many as 47 new companies have reported foreign investment. Meanwhile, these companies have foreign investors from the USA, China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, UAE, Greece, Turkey, Norway, Canada, Netherlands, Syria, UK, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Moreover, the highest numbers of companies i.e. were 736 in Islamabad, 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.