Philippines Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in Philippines, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
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Investment Climate Statement
Last published date:

The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements help U.S. companies make informed business decisions by providing up-to-date information on the investment climates of more than 170 countries and economies. They are prepared by our embassies and consulates around the world and analyze each economy’s openness to foreign investment. Topics include:

•    Openness to, and Restrictions upon, Foreign Investment, 
•    Investment and Taxation Treaties,
•    Legal Regime,
•    Industrial Policies,
•    Protection of Property Rights,
•    Financial Sector,
•    State-owned Enterprises,
•    Corruption,
•    Labor Policies and Practices,
•    Political and Security Environment, and
•    U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs

Each statement provides a starting point for U.S. firms and offers a point of contact at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

These reports are also a resource for foreign governments to create business environments that ensure fair treatment for the United States and our companies and investors. 

To access the full Investment Climate Statement, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website.

Executive Summary - Philippines

The Philippines has taken steps in recent years to improve the overall investment climate and promote economic growth. While potential challenges from global economic headwinds could impact the economy in 2025, sovereign credit ratings remain at investment grade, supported by the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals. Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6 percent in 2024, falling short of the government’s target of 6.0 to 6.5 percent. High inflation and interest rates, extreme weather events, and weak global demand for Philippine exports weighed on economic growth. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reached $8.9 billion in 2024, the same level as in 2023. The majority of FDI equity investments in 2024 were in:

  • manufacturing,
  • information and communications technology (ICT), and
  • real estate.

The Philippines passed the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) in November 2024, the Philippine president’s signature economic legislation of 2024, intended to improve the investment climate and attract new investors. The CREATE MORE Act expanded investment incentives by:

  • extending the duration of tax exemptions for up to 27 years,
  • adding tax-deductible expense items and lowering corporate income tax for companies under enhanced deductions regime,
  • clarifying value-added tax zero-rating rules, and
  • streamlining local tax policies.

The CREATE MORE Act follows on the heels of 2021’s Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, which reduced the corporate income tax and provided other incentives for foreign investors. The Marcos Administration, under its “Build, Better, More” infrastructure agenda, has also committed to:

  • maintain infrastructure spending to 5 to 6 percent of GDP, and
  • encourage more public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure development.

Historically, the government’s efforts to attract foreign investments have been hampered by:

  • poor infrastructure,
  • high power and logistics costs,
  • regulatory inconsistencies,
  • a cumbersome bureaucracy, and
  • corruption.

The Philippines’ complex, slow, redundant, and sometimes corrupt judicial system inhibits the timely and fair resolution of commercial disputes. Traffic in major cities and congestion in the ports remain barriers to doing business. Large, family-owned conglomerates dominate the economic landscape, sometimes crowding out smaller – or even international – businesses.

While the Philippine bureaucracy can be slow and opaque, the business environment has been better in special economic zones.

To access the Philippine Investment Climate State, which includes information on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statement website. 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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