A total of 43,185 new corporations have registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as of end-October, reflecting a resilient and dynamic business sector supported by continued regulatory reforms and an increasingly business-friendly environment.
Of the newly registered entities, 30,671 are stock corporations, 10,117 are non-stock corporations, and 2,397 are partnerships. Among the stock corporations, 30,465 are domestic, while 206 are foreign—a 77.6 percent increase from the 116 foreign stock corporations registered during the same period in 2024—demonstrating growing interest from foreign investors. While slightly lower than the 45,624 registrations recorded during the same period last year, the figures indicate sustained entrepreneurial activity across the country.
This brings the total number of active corporations to 578,272. Of this, 60 percent or 347,841 are stock corporations; 18 percent or 102,718 are non-stock, and the remaining 22 percent or 127,713 are partnerships.
Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) comprise 88 percent or 420,483 of the total 475,554 stock corporations and partnerships.
By industry, 22 percent of these active corporations are in the wholesale and retail trade industry; eight percent in real estate; while accommodation and food services, administrative and support services, and construction companies account for six percent each.
“The SEC is consistently looking for ways to streamline the company registration process as this is the first step entrepreneurs have to go through to expand and grow their businesses,” SEC Chairperson Francis Lim said.
“Beyond improving the registration process, we also want to ensure that maintaining their active status remains easy and accessible to support seamless and uninterrupted operations,” he added.
Since Chairperson Lim assumed office in June, the SEC has implemented policies and reforms that streamlined the company registration process and made transacting with the Commission easier.
In July, the SEC issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 7, Series of 2025, which set strict timelines for processing all types of registrations, including a “deemed approved” policy if the Commission fails to act on an application within the prescribed period.
The SEC also expanded the coverage of the One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC)-Zuper Easy Registration Online facility, increasing the number of eligible industries to 81 from 33 and allowing companies with foreign equity to register through the platform. As of October, 32,533 applications have been processed under OneSEC.
To further support the growth of MSMEs, the SEC issued MC No. 8, Series of 2025, granting discounted rates for certain transactions. MSMEs now enjoy a 20 percent discount on registration fees, and a 25 percent discount on filing fees for increasing capital stock through amendments to their articles of incorporation, effective until year-end. The SEC is currently evaluating the possibility of extending these discounts as part of efforts to encourage more MSMEs to formalize their businesses.
