Bulacan, Jan. 31 -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 3 (Central Luzon) reported a significant increase in business name registrations last year.

The total number of Business Names (BN) registered with DTI-3 reached 128,498 in 2023. This is 8.17 percent higher than the 118,791 processed in 2022.

Emmanuel Caleon, DTI- Bulacan information officer, on Wednesday said the DTI-Bulacan office registered the highest number of BNs with 39,605 followed by Pampanga with 30,564 and Nueva Ecija, 20,907.

He said the province of Tarlac reported 13,659 BNs; Zambales --11,534; Bataan -- 9,572; and Aurora -- 2,657.

Around 87.87 percent or a total of 112,916 BNs processed were new registrations while 12.13 percent or 15,582 were renew...