Asia Economy

This chapter contains selected listings of some of the country’s top hotels across a range of its regions, as well as contact details for a range of different embassies, ministries, prominent organisations and other important bodies. In addition, it contains a guide of helpful tips for both leisure travellers and business visitors operating in a professional environment. The chapter also...

Ranking consistently among the top global providers of business process outsourcing (BPO), the Philippines is working to widen and deepen its portfolio of third-party digital services. Foreign companies delegating operations to providers in the Philippines generate roughly one-10th of the country’s GDP, indicating the degree to which BPO is fundamental to the stability of the economy. The...

The Philippines is a key bridge between the Americas and Asia, making it a natural conduit for global trade flows. The country also has some of the strongest economic growth rates in the Asia-Pacific region, with growth at 6% or more for 16 out of the 20 quarters between 2014 and March 2019. The nation will continue to have considerable demand for imports as major public infrastructure...

With some 175 ethnolinguistic groups spread across the vast archipelago of the Philippines, uniting remote regions and distinct communities under a national identity has been a challenging task for the central government. Political power gradually became concentrated in the present capital Manila under Spanish and US colonial regimes, and the notion of a strong central government was embraced...

Spanning more than 300,000 sq km, the Republic of the Philippines reaches from Taiwan in the north to Indonesia in the south. The Philippines is the fourth-largest country in South-east Asia in territorial size and is home to some 175 ethnolinguistic groups across over 7000 islands. In terms of population, it has the 13th-largest population in the world and the seventh largest in Asia....