SEC: Region-7 is home to over 500T companies

CEBU, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission Cebu Extension Office (SEC-CEBEO) disclosed that as of October 31, 2024, Central Visayas is home to half a million active or registered companies.

As reported by SEC-CEO director Atty. Sheara Lupango-Tamayo during the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-7 Dissemination Forum yesterday, a total of 517, 102 companies are settling here in the region.

Lupango-Tamayo also shared that in terms of company type, stock corporations accounted for the majority at 306,292, followed by partnerships with 123,706, and non-stock corporations with 87,100.

As of October 24, 2024, the region recorded 3,003 newly registered companies.

Moreover, data in terms of sector showed that the services industry dominated with 426,347 corporations, representing an 82 percent share. The industry sector followed with 64,130 companies with 12 percent share, while agriculture contributed 13,341 establishments, or three percent of the total.

On a national scale, Central Visayas ranked fourth in terms of company registrations, holding a six percent share of the total. The National Capital Region (NCR) took the top spot with 48%, followed by CALABARZON with 12%, and Central Luzon with eight percent.

While director Lupango-Tamayo shared the number of establishments registered, she also said that around 300,000 establishments in the region are either suspended or at risk of revocation.

“The SEC is currently cleaning up databases. So last year we issued one notice putting companies under delinquent status – meaning they failed to submit reports because they are required to submit every year,” said Lupango Tamayo.

Data showed that 298,335 companies were placed under delinquent status. This classification applies to businesses that have failed to submit required annual reports, a key indicator of active operations.

In addition to delinquent notices, the SEC issued suspension orders to 117,885 companies that failed to meet reporting requirements.

Meanwhile, 22,403 companies are on the verge of having their registration revoked entirely due to continued non-compliance.

Lupango-Tamayo said that they are committed to ensuring that businesses adhere to regulations while promoting transparency in the business landscape saying, “The SEC is seriously looking at those non-compliant corporations.”

She added that companies should comply promptly, stressing the importance of transparency and accountability.

“We are making it easy to do business by simplifying the registration process, but on the other hand, we are monitoring businesses strictly,” she emphasized. — (FREEMAN)