Pegged in history as the Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines today shines through as a center for industrial parks in Asia.

At a glance, the Philippines offers a business environment conducive to taking operations to an optimized efficient level.*

• Generally liberalized services industry;
• Cost-efficient in terms of wages over labor standard expectations ratio and low operational costs;
• Strategic logistics access point in ASEAN + 3;
• Natural pool of talents and culturally adaptable human resources that foreign investments look for particularly in the Knowledge and Business Processing industries;
• Strong remittances build gross international reserves to comfortable levels above international benchmark levels; this enhances surplus on balance of payments.
• Committed and supportive governance.

The low cost of doing business in the Philippines

Wages are less than a fifth of compensation in the USA.

Local communication, electricity, and housing costs are around 50% lower than the USA.

Foreign companies that are outsourcing operations in the Philippines enjoy substantial savings:

The economy: liberalized and business-friendly

As an open economy, the Philippines allows 100% foeign ownership across practically all sectors. The country’s Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) investment scheme is being emulated by other Asian countries.

Government corporations are in the process of privatization. Banking, insurance, shipping, telecommunications and the power industries are deregulated.

Growth sectors

Privatization and liberalization initiatives open up the Philippines to greater opportunities in more industries. Presently, business booms in several growth areas:

• Agro-industry
• BPO / IT services
• Electronics / Semiconductors
• Logistics (Hub)
• Mining
• Shipbuilding
• Tourism

The natural resources: rich and abundant

The diversity of the Philippines’’ natural resources is immense. Whether it is land, marine or mineral resources, the country presents a wealth of resources alongside its most vital resource, the skilled work force.

The Philippines is the biggest producer of copper in Southeast Asia and is among the top ten producers of gold in the world.

Its oceans serve as home to 2,145 fish species, four times more than the Bahamas, and more are being discovered. The archipelago of 7,100 islands offers some of the most breath-taking beaches and panoramas for tourists.

The country infrastructure: going global

Telecommunications, transportation, business and economic infrastructure links the Philippines’ three major islands, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to the rest of the world. Any point in the country is highly accessible with liberalized inter-island shiping and domestic aviation. Container terminals are geared up to handle the busiest cargo traffic.

For telecommunications, redundant international connectivity 24/7 is founded on fiber optic cable as the primary backbone with satellite facilities as back-up.

Economic reforms emphasize regional growth, converting remote areas into business centers.

The landmark Build-Operate-Trade legislation provides for private investors to set up and operate infrastructure, then turn it over to the Philippine government after an established time frame.

Trade: playing in the world market

The Philippines nurtures close economic relations with its immediate Asian neighbors as a member of the ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Major trading partners include the USA, Japan, the EU, China, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

*Source of basic info: Board of Investments (BOI), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and Clark Development Corporation (CDC).

Consolidated by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) for the Quarterly Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) Report published by the NSCB in cooperation with the Inter Agency Committee on FDI Statistics (IACFDIS).