THE number of business names registered by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) fell 7.38 percent to 629,015 in the first half of 2025 from 679,117 in the comparable period last year, data from the DTI’s Business Name Registration (BNRS) showed.
In June alone, the number of businesses registered rose 8.2 percent to 71,561 from 66,127 in May. Compared with June 2024, the number is down from 73,537.
The DTI website shows that business names are registered for single proprietorship ventures as a legal identity. A business name registration, however, is not a license to operate a business, it says.
As of July 6, the BNRS data showed the number of businesses registered totaled 679,117. No comparative figures were available.
From this total, 550,721 were new registrations and 93,676 were renewals.
Based on the data as of July 6, retail trade (excluding trade of vehicles) continued to be the top industry for business names, with more than half of the total at 320,006 businesses registered.
The other top industries were food and beverage services, 73,756; real estate, 35,685; other personal activities, 21,423; and wholesale and retail trade and repair of vehicles, 19,660.
The data showed Region IV-A registered the highest number of businesses at 118,302 followed by Region III, 84,240 and; the National Capital Region, 84,197.
The data indicated business owners opted to use the online BNRS to register, with 545,571 accounts received, which is 84.67 percent of the total. The rest registered onsite or a hybrid of onsite and online.
Commenting on the data, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael Ricafort said uncertainty on trade due to the US tariffs and geopolitical tensions could have contributed to dampened interest to start a business since these could slow down sales by local suppliers.
