ISLAMABAD, June 8: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 1,135 companies last month, which is the highest number of new companies registered with the commission during a single month.

With the new incorporations up to May 31, 2006, the total portfolio of registered companies with the SECP has reached 50,001, shows SECP statistics.

Of the 1,135 companies, 1,118 were companies limited by shares having a paid-up capital of Rs1.2814billion. These comprise 11 public unlisted companies, 1,082 private companies and 25 single-member companies.

Besides, seven foreign companies, eight associations not-for-profit and two trade organizations were also registered.

The Company Registration Office (CRO) at Karachi registered the highest number of 297 companies, while Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar CROs registered 279, 180 and 151 companies, respectively.

The CROs at Multan, Quetta, Faisalabad and Sukkur registered 92, 76, 58 and two companies, respectively.

As per the sector-wise registration, 479 companies were registered in the services sector, 299 in tourism, 64 in trading, 41 in finance and banking, and 33 in the communication sector.

Some 5,478 companies were registered during the period from July 1, 2005 to May 31, 2006 as compared to 3,078 incorporations during the financial year 2004-05.

The increase in company incorporation could be attributed to the pro-business policies adopted by the government and steps taken by the SECP to promote growth in the corporate sector, stated an official announcement.