ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has reported significant improvements in the registration of companies, foreign investment, digitalization, and compliance during February-April 2026.
According to the press release issued today, the SECP said that it has registered 10,511 new companies during February to April this year, which is 21 percent more than the 8,693 companies registered during the same period last year.
“Out of these, 4,082 companies were registered in April 2026 alone, which is the highest number of companies registered in Pakistan in a single month,” it said.
The announcement further added that investors from more than 22 countries also registered companies in Pakistan, and the total paid-up capital of companies owned by foreign investors increased by 218 percent.
The total paid-up capital of the companies registered by these foreign investors was recorded as Rs 882 million during this period, more than the Rs 277 million during the same period last year.
“Foreign investment was mostly seen in the sectors of trade, services, information technology, construction, and minerals, while Chinese investors were prominent among the newly registered companies.”
Regulatory compliance by companies increased
During this period, there was also a significant increase in regulatory compliance by companies. The Corporate Registry received 61,960 annual returns in these three months, which is 61 percent more than the 38,326 returns submitted during the same period last year.
The commission launched a comprehensive campaign to facilitate companies in filing statutory returns and improve compliance, with a special focus on filing information on beneficial owners, the press
Additionally, SECP has initiated the process of fully digitizing share certificates of unlisted companies, it added.
Under this initiative, the documentary share certificates of companies will be converted into electronic, i.e., book-entry form, through the Central Depository System managed by the Central Depository Company. “This initiative is expected to eliminate disputes regarding ownership of shares of unlisted companies and improve transparency.”
The press release further added that SECP plans to set up Business Facilitation Centers in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad to further facilitate access to corporate services.
In the next phase, SECP plans to introduce more reforms related to AI-based name approval, automated form registration, digital monitoring, and ease of doing business to further automate the company registration system, it concluded.
