ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 8,286 new companies last year, showing a growth of 34 per cent as compared to the registration of the last financial year.

According to the annual report 2017 released by the commission, this has raised the total number of registered companies to 80,700.

The trend witnessed in formation of companies was that approximately 86 per cent companies were registered as private limited companies, 11 per cent as single-member companies and, three per cent were registered as public unlisted, association’s not-for-profit, trade organisations and foreign companies.

The services sector took a lead with the incorporation of 1,303 companies, followed by trading 1,100, construction 936, information technology 773, tourism 518, education 254, food and beverages 252, engineering 225, real estate development 224, fuel and energy 211, corporate agricultural farming 190, textile 173, pharmaceutical and transport 166 each, communication 158, auto and allied 137, power generation 123, healthcare 121, broadcasting and telecasting 103, paper and board 101, and 1,052 companies were registered in other sectors.

Foreign investment was reported in 562 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK and the US, the report added.

Moreover, 63 foreign companies from China, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and the US have established places of business in Pakistan during the last fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the report said these companies are engaged in the fields of auto and allied, cable and electric goods, communication, construction, engineering, food and beverages, healthcare, services, power generation, trading, textile, transport, fuel and energy, information technology, insurance, steel and allied and other sectors.

Meanwhile the country’s high volatility in the currency market defined the year 2017 where the central bank of Pakistan apparently moved to flexible exchange rate regime to support economic growth and ease balance of payments difficulties.

The rupee was stable at an average of 104 in the interbank market throughout the first half of the year; however, it suffered its biggest one-day decline of 3.1 per cent in almost four years on July 5, as it fell to 108.25/dollar from the previous closing of 104.90 in the interbank market.

An abrupt depreciation in the rupee was attributed to the exchange rate adjustment in the market. It was also aligned with economic fundamentals.

Justifying its move, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said the currency depreciation was necessary to address the emerging imbalance in the external account and strengthening the growth prospects of the country.

That [currency depreciation] was not good news for the finance minister Ishaq Dar, who is on leave since late November.

Dar adopted a strong rupee policy, converting the regime into an almost fixed exchange rate, one that made exports less competitive. Besides, it caused fall in remittances.

Interestingly, not the central bank, but the finance ministry intervened in the market to try to prevent the currency from further fall. The rupee/dollar parity stayed flat at 105 in almost five months.

Internews