1887

OECD Investment Policy Reviews: Philippines 2016

image of OECD Investment Policy Reviews: Philippines 2016

This review assesses the overall investment climate in the Philippines, looking at investment policy, investment promotion and facilitation, competition policy, infrastructure investment and responsible business conduct. The Review documents successful reform episodes over the past 25 years in the Philippines, assesses their impact and suggests areas for further reforms. It looks at how to raise investment levels by both foreign and domestic enterprises and at how to ensure that such investment contributes to sustainable and inclusive growth. The current macroeconomic situation in the Philippines is favourable, remittances are high, the business process outsource industry is booming, and the new Competition Act will help to make the domestic market more competitive. The Review argues for one further reform push to ease the many restrictions on foreign investors in the Philippines so as to provide an investment climate where all firms can invest and grow.

English

Executive summary

The Philippine economy is currently one of the fastest growing in the region. Both remittances and foreign direct investment (FDI) are at record levels, the business process outsourcing sector is booming, the country is improving in international rankings and has been upgraded by credit rating agencies. Beyond macroeconomic and political stability, these economic improvements are in part the cumulative result of reforms since the late 1980s, notably trade liberalisation, deregulation, privatisation and the breaking up of long-standing monopolies in some key sectors during the 1990s under President Ramos. More recently, the Aquino administration has made efforts to increase transparency, improve public-private dialogue and address corruption, together with liberalisation in the financial and maritime transport sectors and the enactment of the new Competition Act which should create new market opportunities for both domestic and foreign investors. These important reforms should help to sustain the improved performance of the Philippine economy.

English

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error