MANILA -Company registrations with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hit a record high in 2022, which the corporate watchdog credited to its digital transformation program to improve the ease of doing business.
The SEC recorded a total of 42,926 corporate registrations in 2022, 13 percent higher than 38,052 seen in the previous year. This marked a record high in the SEC’s 85-year history as the country’s company registrar.
In 2021 alone, the total number of company registrations jumped by 67 percent, as the business sector gradually started to recover from the impact of the pandemic in 2020.
The SEC attributed the robust activity in corporate registrations to digital services launched since 2021, which have helped improve the process of putting up a business in the country.
“The digital transformation of the SEC was inspired by our vision for a company registration process that can be completed with ease and convenience, transactions that are safe and secure, and corporate data that are easily accessible,” SEC Chair Emilio Aquino said in a statement.
“This vision is slowly becoming a reality, thanks to our stakeholders who have also adapted well and embraced digital transformation as part of their business strategies. The SEC will continue to develop its goals toward digitalization to further push the business sector toward its best.”
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The SEC sees the rise in business formation supporting the government’s positive economic outlook.
“As more Filipinos realize their entrepreneurial aspirations through the corporate vehicle, we expect more and better employment opportunities for our countrymen across the archipelago, and ultimately a more comfortable and secure life for everyone,” Aquino said.
Digital services
In 2021, the SEC launched the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Companies (eSPARC), and its subsystem, the One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC).
With eSPARC, the SEC said it was able to reduce the company registration process from 16 steps in 34 days to three days. The process is even faster with the use of OneSEC, with a record processing time of 1 minute and 14 seconds from the start of application to the receipt of a digital certificate of incorporation.
READ: Good news for Pinoy enterprises: SEC now offers one-day registration
Prior to eSPARC, the SEC also launched the Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST), previously called the Online Submission Tool, allowing for the submission of digital copies of reportorial requirements such as Annual Financial Statements (AFS) and General Information Sheets (GIS).
Two years since the launch of eFAST, submissions of AFS and GIS have transitioned completely online.
The SEC also made payments easier through the Electronic System for Payments to the SEC (eSPAYSEC), where the transacting public can now choose from over 90,000 online and offline payment options nationwide.
In recognition of the SEC’s efforts toward digitalization, the International Data Corporation honored Aquino as “CEO of the Year” for the Philippines in 2022.