Investment framework and opportunities in the Philippines

Procedures Relative to Foreign Investment

Freedom of Establishment: Philippine law treats foreign investors the same as their domestic counterparts, except in sectors reserved for Filipinos by the Philippine Constitution and the Foreign Investment Act (see below).
Acquisition of Holdings: The Philippines limits foreign ownership to 40% in the manufacturing of explosives, firearms, and military hardware. Other areas that carry varying foreign ownership ceilings include the following: private radio communication networks (40%); private employee recruitment firms (25%); advertising agencies (30%); natural resource exploration, development, and utilization (40%, with exceptions); educational institutions (40%, with some exceptions); operation and management of public utilities (40%); operation of commercial deep sea fishing vessels (40%); Philippine government procurement contracts (40% for supply of goods and commodities); contracts for the construction and repair of locally funded public works (40% with some exceptions); ownership of private lands (40%); and rice and corn production and processing (40%, with some exceptions). Retail trade enterprises with capital of less than USD 2.5 million, or less than USD 250,000, for retailers of luxury goods, are reserved for Filipinos.
Obligation to Declare: Constitutional provisions which bar investment in mass media, utilities, and natural resource extraction.
The Foreign Investment Negative List bans foreign ownership/participation in the following sectors: mass media (except recording and internet businesses); small-scale mining; private security agencies; utilization of marine resources, including the small-scale use of natural resources in rivers, lakes, and lagoons; cooperatives; cockpits; manufacturing of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices; and manufacturing, repair, stockpiling and/or distribution of nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological weapons, and anti-personnel mines.
Requests For Specific Authorisations: The sectors open to foreign investment after an authorization has been obtained are listed in the Foreign Investment Act.

Investment Opportunities

Investment Aid Agency
Tenders, Projects and Public Procurement: Tenders Info, Tenders in the Philippines
Asian Development Bank, Procurement Plans in Asia
DgMarket, Tenders Worldwide
Other Useful Resources: Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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