INVESTING IN THE

PHILIPPINS
Atty. Alvin John F. Balagbag
Attorney IV, PNOC Renewables Corporation

THE PHILIPPINES
officially known as the Republic of the Philippines
(Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas),
situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of
7,107 islands that are categorized broadly under
three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas,
and Mindanao.
Its capital city is Manila while its most populous city
is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila.

At approximately 300,000 square kilometers

(115,831sqmi), the Philippines is the 64th-largest
country in the world.
population of about 100 million people, the Philippines
is the seventh-most populated country in Asia and the
12th most populated country in the world
An additional 12 million Filipinos live overseas,
comprising one of the world's largest diasporas

THE GOVERNMENT
The Philippines has a democratic government in the
form of a constitutional republic with a presidential
system. It is governed as a unitary state
The President functions as both head of state and head
of government and is the commander-in-chief of the
armed forces.
The president is elected by popular vote for a single sixyear term, during which he or she appoints and presides
over the cabinet.

The other branches of the government are the Judiciary

and Congress.
The Philippines is administratively divided into local
government units which administer different
geographical locations.
The Philippines legal system is largely patterned after
the American legal system with the exception of a jury
system.

THE ECONOMY
is the 39th largest in the world, according to 2014 World Bank
statistics, and is also one of the emerging markets.
The Philippines is considered as a newly industrialized
country, which has been transitioning from being one based
on agriculture to one based more on services and
manufacturing.
According to the International Monetary Fund estimates, the
2015 GDP (purchasing power parity) is $751.770 billion.
Goldman Sachs estimates that by the year 2050, the
Philippines will be the 14th largest economy in the world,
Goldman Sachs also included the Philippines in its list of the
Next Eleven economies.

In 2014, the Philippines was Asia's second-fastest

growing economy next only to China.
According to HSBC, the Philippine economy will become
the 16th largest economy in the world, 5th largest
economy in Asia and the largest economy in the
Southeast Asian region by 2050.

As a newly industrialized country, the Philippines is still

an economy with a large agricultural sector; however,
services have come to dominate the economy.
Much of the industrial sector is based on processing
and assembly operations in the manufacturing of
electronics and other high-tech components, usually
from foreign multinational corporations.

Quick Statistics
Total Trade
FY 2012

FY 2013

FY 2014

March 2015

USS$ 114.23B
(5.0%)

US$119.11B
(4.3%)

US$127.50B
(6.1%)

US$ 10.49B
(2.3%)

Merchandise Import
FY 2012

FY 2013

FY 2014

March 2015

US$62.13B
(2.7%)

US$62.41B
(0.5%)

US$65.40B
(3.4%)

US$5.11B
(4.1%)

Net Foreign Investment

FY 2012

FY 2013

FY 2014

Feb 2015

US$3.215M
(60.2%)

US$3.860M
(20.0%)

US$6.20M
(65.9%)

US$0.36M
(48.6%)

BOI-PEZA Investment
FY 2012

FY 2013

FY 2014

P672.30B
(2.3%)

P742.16B
(10.4%)

P634.24B
(14.5%)

INVESTMENT VEHICLES