The opportunities of investments in the Philippines:

In the current context of elevated inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and China’s slowdown, global equities fell due to these concerns.

What can be done? What can be done? There are no positive catalysts for a meaningful rebound after the market correction, investors remain prudent and continue to hold significant levels of cash. Detaining a massive cash amount in a bank account may be also risky for SME entrepreneurs in some jurisdictions such as Hong Kong.

Is ASEAN a better place to look at?

• Continued growth recovery, manageable inflation, and moderate tightening are expected for ASEAN countries.
• The region looks better placed than many other markets.

The Philippines, the new Asian tiger?

The second most populous country in ASEAN with 110 million inhabitants, the Philippines posted a growth rate of 7.2% in 2013. While the country, in full mutation, is full of opportunities, only 70 subsidiaries of French companies are present there. We can only recommend and invite entrepreneurs to take an interest in its development potential.

The Philippines is characterized by:

• a very Christian country close to our European traditions,
• economic stability,
• a workforce that speaks English,
• super competitive salaries,
• an abundant workforce that is eager to learn, easy to train, and without a rebellious spirit,
• proximity to all raw material producing countries such as China,
• free zones without import or export taxes,
• a lenient fiscal climate,
• convenience to open a private bank account (less than 2 hours) in multicurrency,
• convenience to transfer cash abroad and to receive from overseas (within 24 hours).

What are the main opportunities of investments in the Philippines?

1. The real Estate Market
   Philippines has become one of the hotspots for foreign property buyers in Southeast Asia. With favorable demographics and an increasing middle class, Metro Manila has undoubtedly seen the biggest interest.
   Foreign corporations move to the region, setting up offices and operations in places like Cebu and Davao, where labor costs are low.

   What is driving the demand for real estate in the Philippines?

   There are several reasons why the real estate market continues to grow in the Philippines. Having one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, We have listed some of the main drivers below.

   1. Business Process Outsourcing
      The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry is one of the main drivers of the economy in the Philippines. Thanks to its young and English-speaking talent pool, increasingly more foreign companies turn to the Philippines when looking for outsourcing options.
      The industry is predicted to double by 2023 and has grown exponentially. Firms from particularly the US, the UK, and Australia invest heavily in this industry.
   2. Continuous Supply of Flexible Workspace
      The flexible workspace industry is here to stay and will grow tremendously in the Philippines and other Asian countries in the coming decade. It’s said that 30% of all office space will be flexible work-space by 2030.
      Colliers believes that the flexible workspace area will expand by 10% at a minimum in the coming three years. Co-working spaces will not only cater to small companies and digital nomads, but also to multinational and outsourcing companies that look for flexibility.
   3. Increased Amount of Chinese Buyers
      An increased number of Chinese buyers contributes to current and future growth. According to Bloomberg, the gambling/gaming market has attracted around 100,000 Chinese workers to the Metro Manila area since September 2016.
   4. High Remittances from Overseas Filipinos
      The Philippines is the third-largest recipient of foreign remittances in the world. Overseas Filipinos sent an additional USD 3 billion to their families in 2017 compared to 2016.
      With a depreciating peso, and with the increase in foreign remittance, many families now have the purchasing power to buy and invest in the residential property market.
2. The key sectors for Foreign Investments
   1. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION – services as telecommunications, posts, multimedia, electronic commerce, broadcasting and information technology (Business Process Outsourcing/BPO)
   2. ELECTRICITY
   3. GAS
   4. STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
   5. MANUFACTURING – Aerospace, Automotive, Chemical, Electronics, Footwear, Furniture, Plastic, Petrochemicals and Shipbuilding.
   6. ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES (Business Process Outsourcing/BPO, Call centers, IT support/development….).

Opko Finance, an accounting and outsourcing services company based in Cebu in the Philippines and managed by a french expatriate, helps Start up, SME, Entrepreneurs, subsidiaries of big companies to set up and develop their business in the best hubs in Asia and Middle East, faster and with fewer resources through outsourcing solutions in the Philippines.

For any information relative to the investments in the Philippines, please contact our team to info@opkofinance.com.

#outsourcing #outsourcedAccountingPhilippines #outsourcedBackOfficeServices #InvestInThePhilippines