The Philippines is party to a number of free trade agreements (FTAs), many of which are overlapping, and some of which have become redundant. It is part of ASEAN’s Free Trade Area and is a signatory to many FTAs between ASEAN and other countries, such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The country also has a bilateral...
Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are vitally important to the economy and, like business process outsourcing (BPO), these revenues tend to take the edge off any economic shocks. In a further similarity to BPO revenues, remittances are also comparatively easy to accrue, requiring no capital investments, equipment or facilities, and...
THE COMPANY: Universal Robina (URC) is a core subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings. The company is one of the largest branded food product companies in the Philippines, and it has a growing presence in other Asian markets. URC is involved in a wide range of food-related businesses, including the manufacture...
The international community, particularly the US, has long put a high priority on nations respecting patents and copyrights. For the Philippines, demonstrating that it is both sincere and effective in combating piracy and counterfeiting has been a challenge, and intellectual property rights (IPRs) may prove to be a sticking point as the country...
While the markets in the Philippines have been doing well, a number of barriers to investment exist making local stocks and bonds potentially somewhat less attractive than those in other regional markets. One of the disincentives is the tax structure. Foreigners buying shares and bonds have to pay a high withholding tax. Even when they are entitled...
While the Philippines is one of the fastest-growing economies in South-east Asia, the country lags when it comes to foreign investment, particularly compared to some of its regional neighbours. On July 10, 2013, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released the latest foreign direct investment (FDI) data, showing a net inflow of $202m for April...
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