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2 800 COMPANIES REGISTERED IN 2018

20/02/2019 00:44:00 BY KWANELE DHLADHLA

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MBABANE – It was booming business during the 2018/19 financial year as 2 857 entered into the formal economy.

These were companies that were entered into the Registry of Companies according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade end-of-year performance report that was tabled in Parliament on Monday afternoon.
It was reported that through the Registry of Companies led by Msebe Malinga business registration continued to be made more efficient and accessible to businesspeople.

Registration

“An online company registration has been developed, which allows one to register a company at the comfort of their space. The system was only short of the payment system component which is at an advanced stage,” said Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo.
The minister disclosed that the online registration system would be in full operation by the end of the 2018/19 fiscal year.

Khumalo stated that private companies were the highest at 2 589 while public companies were only 31. There were also 4 573 online reservations while companies which were actually registered online were 195. Non-profit making associations were 231 and there were only six foreign companies.

In terms of already existing businesses, the minister announced that they renewed 19 794 trading licences and 1 293 liquor licences.
The registration of more businesses is anticipated to avert Eswatini’s losses of approximately E2 billion worth of taxes per annum to the shadow economy, as recently disclosed by the Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC).

ESEPARC said the local shadow economy is valued between E20 billion and E25 billion.
Market Business News refers to the shadow economy as all work activity and business transaction that occur ‘below the radar’ – economic activity that is undeclared and for which taxes that should be paid are not.

Also known as the informal sector, the black economy, the underground economy, or the grey economy, the shadow economy includes criminal activities such as drug dealing and smuggling, as well as legal jobs, such as gardening, working in construction, or selling products to car drivers at traffic lights.