Islamabad : The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has registered a historic high of 3,609 companies in May 2025, surpassing the previous record of 3,442 set in January 2025. The capital raised amounted to over Rs. 2.7 billion, with approximately 99.9% of new company registrations now processed digitally. This upward trend reflects growing investor confidence and the success of SECP’s digital reforms, which aim to simplify business registration and promote entrepreneurship. The SECP remains committed to enhancing the ease of doing business by strengthening its regulatory framework, improving transparency, and fostering an inclusive, investor-friendly corporate environment across Pakistan. This surge has increased the total number of registered companies in the country to over 255,000.
Private Limited Companies accounted for 59% of total registrations, while single-member companies represented 37%. The remaining 4% included public unlisted companies, not-for-profit organizations, guarantee-limited companies, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs). A closer look at sectoral growth reveals strong activity across multiple industries. The Information Technology (IT) and e-commerce sectors saw the largest growth, adding 718 new companies. The trading sector followed with 506 new companies, while services recorded 447 new companies. Real estate development and construction registered 342 new companies, followed by tourism and transport with 237, food and beverages with 187, and education with 160. Other notable sectors included mining and quarrying (89), pharmaceutical (78), textile (74), marketing and advertisement (72), cosmetics and toiletries (67), engineering (62), and healthcare (51). Additional sectors contributing to this growth—such as chemical, transport, corporate agricultural farming, fuel and energy, Section 42, auto and allied, power generation, and sports and allied—collectively added 519 new companies.
In line with its efforts to enhance market access and financial inclusion, the SECP granted 56 licenses across multiple regulatory domains. These included three in capital markets, one in the insurance sector, three in non-banking financial services, and 49 to NGOs under Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2017. Foreign investment in Pakistan’s corporate sector also showed encouraging growth, with 98 new companies receiving capital from international investors.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
