January-April business registration in NegOcc up almost 66%

BACOLOD CITY –– Total number of businesses registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental increased by almost 66 percent in the first four months of 2019.

Records showed that 9,498 businesses in the province were listed from January to April this year, from only 5,724 during the same period in 2018.

Engiemar Tupas, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, said on Thursday the number of business name registration is usually high during the first quarter because most businesses process their renewals during this period.

Tupas noted that business name registration is mandated by law and it provides legal personality to the enterprise.

Of the total number of registered businesses in the first four months, 8,093 are new while the remaining 1,405 are renewals.

In January, a total of 4,158 businesses were registered; February, 2,333; March, 1,663; and April, 1,045.

In 2018, DTI-Negros Occidental registered 12,536 businesses in the province, almost 17 percent higher than the 10,706 in 2017.

The number is comprised of 10,894 new enterprises and 1,642 renewals.

Also seen as contributor to the increasing number of business name registration in Negros Occidental is the establishment of Negosyo Centers provided under the Republic Act 10644 or the Go Negosyo Act.

These centers deliver entrepreneurial and business development interventions to local micro, small and medium enterprises, and also provide business name registration services.

In Negros Occidental, a total of 23 Negosyo Centers have been established since 2015.

Tupas said the province’s growing economy and its business-enabling environment are driving up the creation of more enterprises.

The local economy is doing good as manifested in many developments, including the construction boom, he noted.

“In effect, more enterprises result to generation of more employment in the province,” Tupas added.