ISLAMABAD, July 4: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan registered 381 companies in June 2005 as compared to 269 companies registered during the corresponding period last year, showing a 41 per cent increase. According to official figures released by the SECP here on Monday, with the conclusion of the financial year 2004-05, the number of companies registered during the year reached a record level of 3,078 as compared to 2,207 companies incorporated during the previous financial year, reflecting an increase of 40 per cent.

A steady growing trend has been recorded in the corporate registration process with the average monthly incorporation exceeding 200 since March 2004.

This accelerated growth trend continued during June this year as well. Of the 381 companies registered during the last month, 373 companies were limited by shares, comprising six public unlisted companies, 353 private companies and 14 single-member companies. Apart from these, six foreign companies, one company limited by guarantee and one trade organization were also registered.

The Company Registration Office (CRO) Lahore registered the highest number of 122 companies or 32 per cent of the total number incorporated during the month. It was followed by the CRO Karachi that registered 109 companies, while the CRO Islamabad registered 75 companies. The CROs in Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta registered three, 11, 50 and 11 companies, respectively.

Total authorized capital and paid-up capital of the 373 limited by shares companies amounted to Rs5.547 billion and Rs486.603 million, respectively. Of these, 353 were private companies having authorized capital and paid-up capital of Rs4.306 billion and Rs473.5 million, respectively; 14 were single-member companies with an authorized capital and paid-up capital of Rs31.3 million and Rs13.06 million, respectively; and six were public companies with an authorized capital and paid-up capital of Rs1.210 billion and Rs46,000 million, respectively.

During the month under review, 95 companies were registered in the services sector, followed by 55 companies in the tourism sector, 64 in the trading sector, 35 in communications and 23 in the real estate development sector.

With the incorporation of 381 entities during June 2005, the total number of registered companies grew to 45,415 as on June 30, 2005. This comprises 2,753 public companies, 41,287 private companies, 242 single-member companies, 286 associations not-for-profit, 56 companies limited by guarantee, 176 trade organizations, 610 foreign companies and five companies with unlimited liabilities. This is an increase of seven per cent over 42,337 companies registered by the close of last financial year.