Doing Business in The Philippines

There are many foreign retirees looking for a country where they can live and retire comfortably and I can say that The Philippines maintain to be very attractive for retirees. Number one reason for this is the weather, Philippines is a tropical country and mostly have sunny days. Another important factor that retirees look into is the cost and in The Philippines, one can live comfortably spending only about $1,000-$1,500 a month and domestic help is very common which only costs $100 a month. But there is this one thing that many retirees want to consider about The Philippines, most see big opportunities but it is quite hard to start a small business in The Philippines especially if you are a foreigner because Philippine Laws clearly states that every corporation shall be 60% Filipino owned and 40% Foreign owned. Some people try to circumvent the law by hiring Filipino dummies who will act as owners but in reality, it is owned by a foreign person. So if you are thinking of a small business it can be difficult to start one. There is a new bill about "Special Retirement Visas" and there are provisions that is available to Foreigners. I am sure that with this development, Philippines can attract more Foreign investor which is always good for the country. There have been "fixers" posing as brokers or someone who can help Foreign people to do any kind of dealing they want to deal with but you have to be careful with this because most of them are crooks. So next time you are being approach by some random person on the street, don't do business with them. If you are a Foreigner and you want to know what kind of Business can you do in The Philippines, talk to Legal Professionals so you can protect yourself. I know some Foreigners who have made the mistake of dealing with random people they have met on the streets and of course, most of the time this kind of things end up bad. I just want to give precaution to people to stop dealing with just any person and get some sense and hire Legal Professionals to better know your stake about any inquiry you are concerned of.