The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has included foreign companies that intend to incorporate in the domestic market to register through its One Day Submission and Electronic Registration of Companies (OneSEC) Zuper Easy Registration Online facility.

SEC Chairperson Francis Lim, as quoted in a press release issued Wednesday, said this decision “is a crucial component of our thrust to improve the ease of doing business in the country.”

“By expanding the coverage of OneSEC to foreign entities, we want to send a strong signal to the international business community that the Philippines is open for business, and hopefully encourage them to set up shop here,” Lim said.

As of the end of June, the SEC recorded 145 foreign entities that have registered with the commission.

The OneSEC, launched in 2021, is part of the commission’s Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC) that uses pre-filled application forms to speed up the registration process and finish the process in as fast as 1 minute and 14 seconds.