Business name registration down 5% in 11 months

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

December 9, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Business name registrations with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) declined by five percent in the January to November period amid weather-related disruptions and corruption issues that have slowed down business operations related to infrastructure projects.

Data from the DTI showed that a total of 978,630 business names were registered with the agency from January to November. This is lower than the 1.03 million filings in the same period last year.

Of the total business name registrations in the 11-month period, 847,112 are new business names, while 131,518 are renewals.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the five percent year-on-year decline in business name registrations from January to November may be attributed to weather-related disruptions such as typhoons and earthquakes.

“All of which reduced working days or business days, including for government offices that process business registrations,” he said.

He also said political noise related to the flood-control anomalies slowed down infrastructure spending and reduced business opportunities in the supply chain of various infrastructure projects.

He said the ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators was another reason for the decline in business name registrations as it reduced business or economic opportunities related to such operations.

“The said reduction in business name registration is consistent with the slower local economic or GDP (gross domestic product) growth at four percent in Q3 2025,“ he said.

The third quarter GDP outturn was the slowest pace of growth seen in four years.

For the month of November alone, business names registered with the agency went up by one percent to 53,073 listings from 52,463 in the same month last year.

In 2024, business names registered with the DTI reached 1.06 million.