BUSINESS name registrations and renewals filed at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) hit nearly 110,000 in February, with over 94,581 new ones signing up during the second month of the year.
Data from DTI’s business name registration system showed that listings reached 109,787 as of February 28, dipping by 1.6 percent compared with the 111,628 tallied in the same month last year.
This brought the total from January to February to 345,846, comprising 283,724 new and 62,122 renewals.
The two-month posting is equivalent to a marginal 0.4 percent increase compared with the 344,544 that were recorded from January to February 2024.
New registration and renewals totaled 1,061,739 in 2024, growing by 7.9 percent from the 984,329 tallied in 2023.
Business name registration and renewals filed at the DTI have fluctuated in the past, reaching 937,423 in 2022, 867,647 in 2021, and 916,164 in 2020.
According to the DTI, its business name registration system was launched in 2019 and was streamlined and fully implemented in 2023.
More than half of filings during the two-month period, at 233,108 or 67.4 percent, of the applications were filed at the barangay level, while those listed in the cities reached 67,584 or 19.54 percent.
Businesses engaged in the wholesale and retail trade, which include “sari-sari stores” or small neighborhood shops, as well as the repair of motor vehicles, still accounted for the largest portion by sector.
Registrations and renewals in this category reached 203,699, accounting for 58.9 percent of the total.
The accommodation and food service category followed with 45,496, real estate activities with 21,219, and manufacturing with 15,955.
Also in the top business categories are other service activities with 13,833, administrative and support services with 11,158, transportation and storage with 9,724, and professional, scientific and technical activities with 5,492.
Region IV-A still had the highest number of registrations at 60,447, which accounted for 17.48 percent of the total.
This is followed by Region III with 41,246, the National Capital Region (NCR) with 33,812, Region VI with 24,027, and Region I with 22,988. (Alden M. Monzon © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
