Business name registrations down in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Business name registrations in the country dipped by nearly two percent in the first three months of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Data from the DTI showed that there were 432,259 business name registrations with the agency from January to March this year, down by 1.7 percent from 439,813 in the same period in 2024.

Of the total business name registrations, the bulk or 360,753 were new registrations, while 71,506 were renewals.

The wholesale and retail trade sector accounted for the biggest share or more than half of business name registrations in the first quarter with 249,115 filings.

Accommodation and food service activities came in next with 57,778 registrations, while real estate activities placed third with 25,617 filings.

This was followed by manufacturing with 20,684 filings and other service activities with 17,517 registrations.

By region, Region IV-A or Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (CALABARZON) had the largest share in business registrations, with filings reaching 77,132 in the first quarter.

Region III or Central Luzon placed second with 53,407 filings, while the National Capital Region ranked third with 47,762 registrations.

In terms of registration method, online was the most preferred option for both new filings and renewals in the first quarter.

In particular, there were 305,746 new business name registrations and 52,239 business name renewals done online from January to March this year.

In March alone, business registrations declined by 9.3 percent to 86,414 this year from 95,269 filings in the previous year.

Last year, business name registrations with the DTI increased by 7.9 percent to 1,061,738 from 984,329 filings in 2023.