ISLAMABAD - The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 467 new limited liability companies in April, raising the total corporate portfolio to 63,681 companies. 
Compared to the corresponding month last year, a very healthy growth of 43% was witnessed in the registration of companies.
In addition, the SECP granted 3 licenses to non-profit associations, said a statement issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan here on Wednesday.
Around 92 per cent companies were registered as private limited companies; while around 5 per cent were registered as single member companies. Three per cent of the companies have been registered as public limited companies and associations under Section 42 of the 1984 Companies Ordinance.
The trading sector took the lead in new registrations with the incorporation of 55 companies, followed by services and tourism with 52
companies each, information and technology with 32, construction with 30, corporate agricultural farming with 25, communications with 19, pharmaceutical with 18 and food and beverages with 15 companies.
The foreign investment has been witnessed in 27 new companies. These
companies have foreign investors from Belgium, China, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, North Korea, Panama, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the US.
These companies are from trading, construction, education, engineering, fuel and energy, power generation, cables and electric goods, chemical, pharmaceutical, communications, corporate agricultural farming, ginning, leather and tanneries, steel and allied, teort sectors.
During the month, 151 companies were registered at the Company Registration Office (CRO), Lahore, followed by 124 and 116 companies registered at CRO Karachi and Islamabad respectively.
The CROs in Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad registered 37, 20 and 13 companies respectively. The Quetta CRO registered 4, while the Sukkur CRO registered 2 companies.
The returns for an increase in the authorized capital of 82 companies were accepted, with a total authorized capital increment of Rs 30.36 billion. In addition, 92 companies filed returns for increase in the paid-up capital with a total increment of Rs6.82 billion.