SEC affirms role as business and investor champion as it approaches 88th year

MANILA, Philippines — Following a record performance in 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is heading toward the new year with optimism and vigor to help advance the national government’s vision of robust economic growth in the years ahead.

“2023 was a record year for the SEC, as we instituted improvements in the ease of doing business in the Philippines through our digitalization efforts, ramped up our financial literacy campaign to empower and protect investors, and explored new ways to boost the capital market,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said.

“We are optimistic as we approach the commission’s 88th year this 2024, and remain committed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s vision of a prosperous, inclusive and resilient society,” he added.

In 2023, the SEC was steadfast in upholding its mandate of championing ease of doing business, capital market development, investor protection and good corporate governance, marked by several local and international accolades that affirmed its role as the country’s business and investor champion.

The SEC received several awards, citations, recognitions and accreditations for the programs and reforms it implemented in 2023.

In October, the Philippines was recognized for having one of the best company registration systems in the world—the commission’s Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC)—during the annual conference of the Corporate Registers Forum in Malta.

Launched in 2021, eSPARC reduced the time needed to register a company from 34 to three days. Its subsystem, the One-day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies, allows applicants to register a company in as fast as one minute and 14 seconds, from the start of the application to the receipt of a digital certificate of incorporation.

This record processing time has earned the SEC several recognitions for improving the ease of doing business (EODB) in the country. In December, the Commission was recognized by the Anti-Red Tape Authority for enhancing the regulatory landscape in the country through its EODB programs.

Mobile payments service GCash also recognized the digitalization programs of the