Business registrations, renewals down in May

MANILA, Philippines –  Business registrations and renewals filed at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) declined by a little over a tenth in May amid fewer filings from the retail, accommodation, manufacturing and real estate sectors.

Data from the government agency’s business name registration system showed that listings during the month dropped 12.69 percent to 66,124 from 75,732 a year ago.

The decline in May was less severe compared to April, which recorded a more than 30-percent drop.

READ: Business name registrations, renewals shrank by over a third in April

Of the total in May, 59,666 or 90.24 percent were new registrations, while the remaining 6,458 or 9.77 percent were renewals.

Listings from the wholesale and retail trade sector continued to account for the majority at 51.07 percent, totaling 33,779, which represented a 12.85-percent decrease from 38,761 a year earlier.

The accommodation and food service sector followed with a 13.95-percent share, totaling 9,224, albeit a 19.56-percent decline from 11,469 in the same period last year.

Manufacturing followed with 3,963, down by 6.29 percent from the 4,229 recorded in the same month in 2024.

Real estate activities followed with a total of 3,154, a 16.44-percent decrease from 3,774.

Rounding up the top five is the administrative and support services sector, which recorded 3,095 for a 0.65-percent increase.

Region IV-A, which covers the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, still had the highest number of listings at 13,224, which accounted for 20.01 percent of the total.

It was followed by the National Capital Region with 11,433, Region III (Central Luzon) with 9,853, Region VI (Western Visayas) with 4,141 and Region VII (Central Visayas) with 3,916.

The May figures brought the number of listings during the five-month period to 557,451, marking a 7.95-percent decrease.

The DTI’s business name registration system, which was first introduced in 2019, was streamlined and fully implemented in 2023.

In 2024, new registrations and renewals reached 1,061,739, reflecting a 7.9-percent increase from the 984,329 recorded in 2023. INQ