PH business registrations, renewals hit record high

Business name registrations and renewals filed at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) soared to a record high in mid-November, surpassing the one million mark as retail businesses continued to make up the largest portion of filers.

DTI data showed that there were 1.001 million filings from January to November 17, surpassing the full-year figure of 984,330 in 2023.

Of the total so far this year, 886,203 — or 88.5 percent — were new registrations, while the remaining 115,003 were renewals.

READ: Biz name registrations, renewal hit over 873,000 in Sept

In early October, trade undersecretary Blesila A. Lantayona told the Inquirer that business name registrations have been “on a consistent increase.”

“Given this positive trend and our ongoing efforts, we are optimistic that we will surpass the highest number of registrations recorded last year,” she said.

Sought for comment on the trend, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort told the Inquirer that the growth could be a reflection of the lifting of COVID-related restrictions.

He noted that it has been more than a year since the government lifted the state of public health emergency.

Ricafort said that this supported the recovery of many businesses and industries, especially those hit hard by the pandemic such as tourism, services, and retail, among others.

Growth of retail businesses

Businesses engaged in the wholesale and retail trade, many of which are small neighborhood shops or “sari-sari stores,” as well as the repair of motor vehicles made up 54.92 percent of the total with 549,881 new registrations and renewals.

In 2023, the full-year number was at 515,076, indicating that it has grown by 6.8 percent so far this year.

“The improvement, especially on retail and consumer-related businesses and industries, may also reflect the fact that local employment data since late last year improved to the best level in nearly 20 years,” said Ricafort.

Meanwhile, the accommodation and food service category followed at a distance with 140, 412 filings, while manufacturing and real estate had 56,855 and 49,521, respectively.

Other top categories include transportation and storage with 40,776, the other service activities category with 37,627, and administrative and support with 37,501.

In terms of regional dispersion, Region IV-A continued to lead with the highest number of registrations at 190, 211, which is 19 percent or nearly a fifth of the total.

The National Capital Region (NCR) came in second with its 16.67 percent share of. 166,831

The other three in the top five are Region III with 133,832, Region VI with 67,679, and Region VII with 62,169.

Completing the other half in the top ten are Region I with 54,497, Region XI with 40,298, Region II with 36,599, Region X with 36,474, and Region V with 34,536.

The DTI began the full implementation of its online business name registration process in 2023, in a bid to streamline their listing processes.

Businesses can apply online through the DTI’s Business Name Registration Services (BNRS) website at https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph or by going to the various DTI’s Negosyo Centers across the country.