Pakistan Attracts 220 New Foreign Firms And Rs. 65.7 Crore Investment in Q1 2026

Foreign participation in Pakistan’s corporate sector remained stable during the first quarter of 2026, with 220 companies registered with foreign shareholders, contributing total paid-up capital of Rs. 657 million, slightly higher than Rs. 642 million recorded during the same period last year.

Data for the third quarter of FY2025–26 (January–March 2026), released by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), indicates broad-based corporate expansion across sectors and regions, driven by ongoing digitalisation, regulatory facilitation, and improved stakeholder engagement.

Foreign investment remained concentrated in key sectors, including trading, services, information technology, construction, and mining, highlighting investor interest in both traditional industries and emerging economic segments.

The overall pattern points to stable foreign inflows supporting corporate growth and strengthening Pakistan’s integration with global markets.

During January–March 2026, a total of 10,318 new companies were registered, up 12.5 percent year-on-year.

Private companies dominated registrations with a 58.6 percent share, followed by single-member companies at 37.9 percent, reflecting continued expansion of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

Regionally, Punjab accounted for 50.2 percent of total incorporations, followed by Islamabad at 19.0 percent and Sindh at 15.5 percent, which recorded a strong growth of 23 percent. Gilgit-Baltistan emerged as the fastest-growing region, posting a remarkable 97.8 percent increase, signalling rising business formalisation in emerging areas.

Sectoral activity remained concentrated in high-growth segments, with the top seven sectors contributing 71.9 percent of total registrations. The IT and e-commerce sector led with 2,065 new companies (20 percent), followed by trading (16.4 percent) and services (12.5 percent).

The trading sector recorded the highest growth at 41.1 percent, while communications and healthcare also demonstrated notable expansion.

On the regulatory front, the SECP processed 95,823 corporate filings, up 27 percent compared to the same period last year.

Post-incorporation filings rose by 33 percent, indicating improved compliance levels and a maturing corporate ecosystem.

The Secured Transactions Registry (STR) also remained active, with more than 6,000 financing statements filed and over 5,000 searches conducted.