THE LOCAL business sector remained “resilient” this year, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) logged more than 43,000 new companies as of end-October.
While posting a decline from a year ago’s 45,624 registrations, the 10-month figure still mirrored the country’s “sustained entrepreneurial activity, according to SEC.
Breaking down, the newly registered entities are composed of 30,671 stock corporations, 10,117 non-stock corporations and 2,397 partnerships.
The regulator likewise noted a jump in foreign stock corporations, increasing from 116 to 206 registrations. The SEC said this showed “growing interest from foreign investors.”
This brings the total number of active corporations to 578,272, of which 420,483 are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
By business type
By industry, 22 percent of these active corporations are in the wholesale and retail trade industry; 8 percent in real estate; while accommodation and food services, administrative and support services, and construction companies account for 6 percent each.
“The SEC is consistently looking for ways to streamline the company registration process as this is the first step entrepreneurs have to go through to expand and grow their businesses,” SEC chair Francis Lim said.
“Beyond improving the registration process, we also want to ensure that maintaining their active status remains easy and accessible to support seamless and uninterrupted operations,” he added. (Lisbet K. Esmael © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
