GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/02 October)– More small businesses are being put up in Sarangani Province due to the area’s improved economic condition in the last three years, an official said.
Nenita Barroso, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Sarangani provincial director, said their records showed that the number of business name registrations in the area for single proprietorship has continually increased since 2010.
In her report to the Sarangani provincial board, she said a total of 1,248 businesses were registered in the area in the last three years.
Barroso said they recorded 319 new business name registrations covering various ventures in 2010, 458 in 2011 and 471 in 2012.
From January to September this year, she said a total of 374 new businesses have so far registered with their office.
“The increase could be attributed to the improving economy of the province,” Barroso said in a statement released by the Sarangani Information Office.
She noted that among the proofs that the area’s economy has been growing are the continuing infrastructure developments like road rehabilitations.
Complementing it are the convergence initiatives of local government and its partner organizations, she said.
For this year, Barroso said they are confident that the trend on new business registrations will continue and possibly even surpass last year’s figures.
She said the agency is presently processing a number of new business registrations coming from the province’s seven municipalities.
“We’ve been continually reminding residents to register their businesses, even the small ones, and they also expressed willingness to do so,” she said.
Aside from the increase in business name registrations, Barroso said the number of owners who applied for renewal has been growing since 2011.
DTI records showed that 34 renewals on single proprietorship businesses were made in 2011, 45 in 2012 and 77 from January to September this year.
She said entrepreneurs are mandated to renew their business names with the DTI every five years while their business permits, which are processed by the local governments, are renewed annually.
“It’s important for entrepreneurs to renew their business names to avoid losing them to other interested parties and at the same time, maintain the image of their businesses,” she said.
Barroso said that the agency has already rationalized the processes for business registrations as part of their efforts to create a business and investor-friendly atmosphere in the area.
She admitted that in the past, business registrations could take about a year to complete due to the number of requirements and agencies or offices involved.
“Now it’s faster. Entrepreneurs can get the needed documents within three days,” she added. (MindaNews)
