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With financial inclusion a high priority for both the government and retail banks, which are looking to the untapped population to increase their customer base, recent developments in financial technology (fintech) have been greeted with great interest. In particular, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank, is increasingly...

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.

With some 175 ethnolinguistic groups spread across the vast archipelago of the Philippines, uniting some of the more 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...

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has long been associated with insurrection, conflict and extremism. Although much of Mindanao has been integrated into the mainstream Philippine economy and political system, the ARMM maintains uneasy relations and resistance to central government authority, which has led to economic isolation...

The results of the latest OBG Business Barometer: Philippines CEO Survey shed light on how President Rodrigo Duterte’s tax reform packages have been received by the business community. Effective since January 1, 2018, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) programme has exempted many low-wage workers from income tax but was also partly blamed for causing...