Bangsamoro approves over 4,000 business registrations

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – Despite the ongoing pandemic, Bangsamoro, an autonomous Muslim-majority region in southern Philippines, approved a total of 4,740 business name registrations (BNRs) in the first quarter of 2021, officials said.

According to the Trade, Investments and Tourism Ministry, the number is 300% higher compared to the 1,251 business registrations for the same period in 2020.

“The BNRs from January to March this year generated PHP423 million ($8.8 million) worth of investments and employment for 10,109 people,” Abuamri Taddik, the minister in charge, said in a statement on Thursday.

The key growing sectors amid the pandemic include finance, insurance, construction, transport, health, and food services, he added.

The region, which has a population of nearly five million, voted for greater autonomy in a referendum held in 2019, ending decades of conflict and paving the way for a three-year transition toward elections.