SECP Launches Digital Registry To Track Real Owners Of Companies
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has launched a digital Ultimate Beneficial Ownership registry aimed at improving transparency in the corporate sector and preventing the misuse of companies for illegal activities.
Under the new system, companies will be required to disclose details of their Ultimate Beneficial Owners, the individuals who ultimately own or control a company. This information must be provided at the time of company incorporation and updated every year to ensure accuracy.
The registry has been introduced through amendments issued via S.R.O. 1355(I)/2025 under the Companies Regulations, 2024. The changes require firms to identify and verify their ultimate beneficial owners in accordance with Section 123A of the Companies Act 2017.
The initiative is intended to strengthen corporate governance by making ownership structures more transparent and allowing regulators to identify individuals who ultimately control corporate entities.
The commission said the digital registry will also support Pakistan’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing framework while improving regulatory oversight and corporate accountability.
The Commission reiterated its commitment to introducing progressive regulatory reforms and digital solutions to improve transparency, facilitate compliance, and strengthen confidence in Pakistan’s corporate sector.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2026/03/09/secp-launches-digital-registry-to-track-real-owners-of-companies/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
