CEBU is poised to experience a surge in investments and job opportunities after the Securities and Exchange Commission-Cebu Extension Office (SEC Cebu) saw an increase in registered companies in the first half of 2023.
The government agency’s digital transformation also played a role in the increase, according to SEC Cebu Director Sheara Lupango-Tamayo.
SEC Cebu said it logged 1,871 incorporated firms up 103.4 percent in the same period last year which only had 920 entities. The first half figure is already 98 percent of the 1,908 total firms incorporated in 2022.
Tamayo, a lawyer, said the “increase in the number of registered companies translates to more jobs and more economic benefits in the areas where they operate.”
He said the growth is also reflective of the digital transformation program that the SEC is embarking on, since the goal of automating SEC services is to make doing business easier for Filipinos.
“We see this bearing fruit with the increase in company registrations,” Tamayo said.
Digital transformation
SEC’s digital transformation, particularly the launch of the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) also contributed to the growth.
The eSPARC platform allows the public to register stock and non-stock corporations as well as partnerships online, from the convenience of their home. This digital initiative makes the SEC’s registration service more accessible to the public.
Of the 1,871 corporations, 77 are one-person-corporations, 715 stock corporations with less than five incorporators, 422 regular stock corporations, 41 corporations sole, 63 non-stock corporations with less than five incorporators, 277 regular non-stock corporations, two foreign corporations, and 74 partnerships.
SEC Cebu covers the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor.
President’s message
During SEC’s 86th anniversary early this year, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. urged the SEC to help his administration promote the Philippines as a “safe and proactive” investment hub.
“I know that I can count on each of you to help promote our country as an investment destination—one that is safe, that is orderly and proactive; and one that can uphold the rights and welfare of our investors and consumers to their mutual benefits,” Marcos said.
The president also called on the SEC to help the business sector and transform it as an “agent of social and economic transformation.”
Meanwhile, the SEC advised the public against dealing with entities due to their unauthorized solicitation of investments without the necessary license from the commission: Dermacare-Beyond Skin Care Solutions / Beyond Skin Care Solutions; Mono Mall; Pamper Me Salon & Spa; Melon Plus/Primelogix Marketing Inc.; and JBF Goldminer International/ Gold De Luck.
According to the SEC, some of these groups’ investment schemes or actions resemble a pyramid/Ponzi scheme, where investors earn through recruitment fees instead of the sale of actual products/services, and investors are paid using the contribution of new members.
Founded on Oct. 26, 1936, SEC is responsible for regulating the Philippine securities market, amd protecting investors and promoting a fair and orderly market.