ISLAMABAD: Pakistan registered 5,241 new companies in September, with the information technology sector leading the surge, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) announced Friday. The regulator noted that nearly all registrations—99.9 percent—were completed online.
The latest figures bring the total number of registered companies in the country to 317,002. The uptick follows recent government efforts to stimulate commercial activity by streamlining the incorporation process, aiming to attract domestic and foreign investment, expand the tax base, and generate employment.
According to the SECP breakdown, the IT sector topped the list with 920 new registrations. Trading followed with 808 companies, while the services sector recorded 599. Other significant sectors included construction (339), food (239), tourism (222), and real estate (193).
By corporate structure, the new entities comprised 3,013 private limited companies, 2,058 single-member companies, 127 limited liability partnerships (LLPs), 29 not-for-profit associations, 10 public companies, two trade organizations, and two foreign companies.
Geographically, Punjab led with 2,740 registrations, followed by the federal capital Islamabad with 1,009, Sindh with 790, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 428, Gilgit-Baltistan with 169, and Balochistan with 105.
Additional sectoral data showed 189 registrations in education, 179 in e-commerce, and 127 in mining, with 1,426 companies distributed across other categories.
The regulator reported that 167 foreign investors participated in September registrations, with Chinese nationals accounting for 113 of them.
SECP Chairman Dr. Kabir Ahmed Sidhu described the registration drive as a critical step toward building a documented, structured economy. “We are further simplifying the registration process to promote economic growth,” he stated.
The government has set an ambitious target of $30 billion in annual IT exports. Officials indicate this goal will be pursued through investment in startups, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital skills training, and improved connectivity. The rapid expansion of the technology sector—now the country’s largest services exporter and a vital source of foreign exchange—underscores a broader strategy to diversify exports beyond traditional mainstays such as textiles and food.