Philippines to Ease Foreign Ownership

• 16 December 2017
• Construction Focus
• 843 Views

Foreign ownership rules in the construction sector are set to be relaxed in the Philippines after the government announced it is changing its constitution to increase limits in a number of sectors.

Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez made the announcement at a forum for Japanese investors in Tokyo in October, telling them that the government is also reviewing its Foreign Investment Negative List. Constitutional change can only occur after the review and the process is expected to take at least a year.

The Philippines Finance Department used data from the 2016 Asean Investment Report to show that the changes were needed as the Philippines ranks behind its ASEAN neighbours in attracting foreign direct investment, attracting only 4.7 percent of the regional total.

The Philippines is currently embarking on an ambitious national infrastructure development program.