Retail, food services drive 7% jump in DTI registrations
Published Apr 6, 2026 12:41 pm
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Updated Apr 6, 2026 01:50 pm
Business names registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) rose by seven percent in the first quarter to more than 460,000 compared with the previous year, as higher fuel prices failed to slow the country’s surging entrepreneurial activity.
Data from the DTI showed that business name registrations from January to March reached 464,365, higher than the 432,259 filings recorded in the same period last year.
Of the total, over 80 percent of registrations, or 384,307, were new applications, while 80,058 were renewals.
The wholesale and retail trade sector, which ranges from personal and household goods to the repair of vehicles and motorcycles, generated the highest business activity in the first three months, with 286,605 filings or 57 percent of the total.
This was followed by accommodation and food service activities (61,131 registrations), real estate activities (26,974), manufacturing (22,963), and other service activities (19,174).
In terms of location, entrepreneurial activity was at its highest in Calabarzon, with 81,675 registrations by the end of March.
Central Luzon ranked second with 59,223 filings, followed by Metro Manila with 51,025, Ilocos Region with 28,538, and Central Visayas with 24,865.
In March alone, business names registered with the DTI fell by 17 percent to 96,601 from 116,596 in the previous month.
However, on a year-on-year basis, registrations in March rose by nearly 12 percent, to 86,415 filings in the same month last year.
This indicates that the upward momentum in domestic business growth remains robust even as fuel prices and other major input costs increase amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the inflationary impact of the Middle East crisis may slow economic growth, which could weigh on business name registrations in the coming months.
Nonetheless, he said the first-quarter performance reflects improving business confidence in the country, especially after filings declined last year amid subpar economic growth.
The slower economic growth was largely attributed to the massive corruption scandal involving flood control projects, which tempered government spending and investor sentiment.
Total business names registered with the DTI reached 1.02 million last year, down from 1.06 million in 2024.
Through anti-corruption reforms and other efforts to improve governance standards, Ricafort said this would further boost investor confidence, translating into faster economic growth and more business registrations.
“For the coming months, normalized or lower base or denominator effects would still lead to continuation of year-on-year growth in new business registrations,” Ricafort said in a Viber message.
Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow John Paolo Rivera said recent fuel prices may not yet be reflected in business name registrations within the quarter.
“So we could see some moderation in registrations in the coming months if cost pressures persist,” Rivera said in a Viber message.