The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 2,757 new companies in March 2025, bringing the total number of registered firms in the country to 249,365.
Nearly all registrations – 99.9 per cent – were completed through SECP’s online platform, reflecting the regulator’s ongoing shift towards digital processes aimed at improving transparency and making it easier to start and operate a business in Pakistan.
More than half of the newly registered entities (54 per cent) were private limited companies, while 40 per cent were single-member firms. The remaining 6 per cent included public unlisted companies, non-profit organisations, trade bodies, and limited liability partnerships.
The IT and e-commerce sector led registrations with 552 new companies. It was followed by the trading sector with 350, and services with 313. Real estate and construction added 256 companies, while tourism and transport saw 161 new firms. Other active sectors included food and beverages (147), education (127), and corporate farming (124).
Textile (65), marketing and advertising (63), mining and quarrying (54), and pharmaceuticals (51) also saw growth. The engineering, fuel and energy, and chemicals sectors each added 41 new companies.
In addition, 371 firms were registered across diverse areas such as power generation, healthcare, communication, automotive, sports, tobacco, media, steel, arts and culture, and non-bank financial companies.
Foreign investors contributed capital to 73 newly registered companies. These investors came from countries including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Vietnam, and Yemen.
The SECP said it will continue strengthening its digital infrastructure and simplifying procedures to encourage entrepreneurship, attract investment, and support sustainable economic growth.
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