Number of registered firms in PH hits 1.42M

The number of registered businesses in the Philippines reached 1.42 million in May 2019, from 1.39 million recorded at the end of 2018, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who also chairs the MSMED Council that is tasked to advance the interests of SMEs, said the increase meant that it was a good time to do business in the country, given the current speed of its economic growth.

This is despite the fact that the country’s gross domestic product slowed to 5.6 percent in the first quarter, the slowest in four years, after the delayed approval of the national budget this year due to politics.

On May 14, Lopez said during the council’s 11th meeting that the programs for micro, small, and medium enterprises should be felt at the barangay level.

“So even if the DTI’s budget is only up to the provincial level, we will find ways for our programs to reach MSMEs at the grassroots,” said Lopez in a statement.

DTI also committed to inform the public about the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE) law, which was passed more than a decade ago to give incentives and benefits to microbusinesses.

According to the law, the income from the operations of a registered barangay microbusiness enterprise will be exempted from being taxed, while also being exempted from the minimum wage law, provided that its workers will be given the same benefits as regular employees.