The biggest barrier in the Philippines are the foreign ownership restrictions. The constitution does not allow foreign companies to own land, but, having said that, they can lease for up to 50 years.
The bright spot for the Philippines is our knowledge workforce. We provide workers around the world, with nurses going to the UK, USA and Singapore, while the retail and construction industries in the Middle East have a lot of Filipinos.
People who want to invest here target opportunities where they can take advantage of the English speaking population in businesses such as legal process outsourcing and business process outsourcing. There is a decent turnover of this type of work in the Philippines which is worth quite a few billion dollars.
The problem is always foreign ownership, but with a substantial investment this can be resolved.
We are opening up mining sites now with 100% ownership for a substantial investment. Retail was always very tightly regulated, but now with a substantial investment you can own your own establishment. Toys R Us operate their own shops as do several boutiques including Prada and Zara.
We do follow a negative list though where certain industries are excluded from direct foreign investment or ownership.
