ISLAMABAD  - The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 420 new limited liability companies in March, raising the total corporate portfolio to 63,236 companies. In addition, the SECP granted 3 new licenses to non-profit associations, while one license was renewed.
Around 92pc companies registered as private limited companies, while 6% registered as single member companies. The remaining 2% of the companies have been registered as public limited companies, foreign companies and associations under Section 42 of the  Companies Ordinance, 1984.
The trading sector took the lead in new registrations with the incorporation of 57 companies,  followed by tourism with 54, services with 37, information and technology with 34, construction with 23, communications with 16, pharmaceutical and corporate agricultural farming with 14 each, and power generation and real estate development with 13  companies each.
Foreign investment has been witnessed in 20 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Italy, South Korea, Lebanon, Norway, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US. These companies are from trading, construction, healthcare, information technology, mining and quarrying, real estate development, services, pharmaceutical, corporate agricultural farming, food and beverages and tourism sectors.
During the month, 146 companies were registered at the Company Registration Office (CRO), Lahore, followed by 112 and 104 companies registered at CRO Islamabad and Karachi respectively. The CROs in Peshawar, Faisalabad and Multan registered 25, 13 and 12 companies respectively, while the Quetta CRO registered 8 companies.
Returns for an increase in the authorized capital of 71 companies were accepted, with the total authorized capital increment of Rs16.25 billion. In addition, 100 companies filed returns for an  increase in the paid-up capital with the total enhancement amounting to Rs7.83 billion. NNI