If the renewed enthusiasm of entrepreneurs to list their businesses is used as basis, the economy should have regained its pre-Covid 2019 momentum.

Micro, small and medium enterprises owners are listing their business names at an unprecedented pace this year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

In a statement, the DTI said business name registrations were logged at 932,097 for 2022, surpassing the highest record reported in 2020.

"The rising number of sole proprietors registering their business names is indeed a positive sign that the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit is alive and recovering from the pandemic. We are pleased that more sole proprietors have undertaken the necessary first step of registering their businesses, starting with their business names", Trade Secretary Fred Pascual said.

DTI records showed new business names registered reached 827,491 accounting for 88.8 percent of overall registrations, while the remaining 104,606 were renewals.

Mobile stores popular
The business activity of most of the registrants, based on the Philippine Standard Industrial Classification, are into retail selling in sari-sari stores with 180,406 processed applications, trailed by other restaurants and mobile food services activities and real estate buying, selling, renting, leasing and operating of self-owned/leased apartment buildings, non-residential and dwellings with 75,391 and 32,764 registrations respectively.

In 2020, DTI reported total business names reaching 916,164, followed by 867,647 in 2021.

In 2022, the total number of business names applicants was 7.4 percent higher as compared to the previous year and is considered a record-breaking year as the business name registrations posted the highest annual number of registrations for the past 10 years.

"DTI wanted to make business registration less complicated and seamless. As we constantly integrate technology in the improvement of our services, the department is working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to fully implement an end-to-end registration, in support of e-governance measures to achieve a more efficient public service delivery and better experience for citizens," Pascual added.