The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan registered 2,993 new companies in March, an 11% increase from the same month last year, bringing the total number of registered companies in the country to 290,041.

The total paid-up capital of newly registered companies stood at PKR 2.80 billion, according to the regulator. Private limited companies accounted for 57% of new registrations, followed by single-member companies at 39%. The remaining 4% comprised public unlisted companies, not-for-profit organizations, and limited liability partnerships.

Of the newly incorporated companies, 58 received investment from overseas investors. China led with participation in 28 companies, followed by Afghanistan with seven and the United Kingdom with four. Russia, the British Virgin Islands, Norway, and Germany each contributed to two companies, while Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, Spain, the Czech Republic, Canada, Nigeria, Malaysia, Myanmar, Croatia, and Saudi Arabia each had a single company registration.

From a regional perspective, Punjab led with 1,488 new companies, followed by the Islamabad Capital Territory with 552, Sindh with 447, Gilgit-Baltistan with 233, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 224, and Balochistan with 49.

Sector-wise, information technology and e-commerce remained the leading drivers of new incorporations with 606 companies, followed by trading with 542, services with 366, and real estate development and construction with 264.

Other active sectors included tourism and transport (153), food and beverages (149), education (112), textile (65), mining and quarrying (60), corporate agricultural farming (58), marketing and advertisement (58), engineering (51), healthcare (49), cosmetics and toiletries (47), fuel and energy (43), pharmaceuticals (41), chemicals (38), communications (32), and auto and allied (25). A further 234 companies were registered across other sectors, including cables and electrical goods, sports, and paper and board.