Doing business
in Philippines.

Located in the heart of Asia, the Philippines is a gateway to the roughly 700 million people across the ASEAN market, a bloc that grew to 11 members after Timor-Leste joined in 2025 and is regularly counted among the world’s faster-growing trade blocs.

With around 117.7 million people, the Philippines is the world’s 14th most populous country and the second-most populous in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. English is widely spoken and well understood, particularly in business, which has been a consistent draw for foreign investors.

Once an agricultural economy, the Philippines has become a newly industrialised country with competitive manufacturing, services and agribusiness sectors, and real strength in business process outsourcing, real estate, and banking and insurance. A large population underpins a sizeable consumer market, helped along by a growing middle class, ongoing urbanisation, a well-educated workforce and steady foreign investment.

The government actively courts foreign investment and offers a range of incentives to qualifying businesses. Through the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, registered enterprises can access income tax holidays of up to seven years, tax-free and duty-free importation of machinery and raw materials, and preferential tax rates on gross income.

Networking sits at the centre of how business gets done in the Philippines. Relationships tend to matter more than paperwork, and face-to-face meetings, shared meals and informal gatherings do a lot of the real work of building trust, often more than the formal agreement that eventually gets signed.

Saving face matters too, tied to the concept of hiya, or the discomfort of embarrassment. Filipinos tend to communicate indirectly, steering around outright criticism or disagreement in favour of subtler cues. There’s also pakikisama, getting along with others, which places a premium on group harmony over individual assertiveness. Both are worth keeping in mind before pushing hard on a point in a meeting.

Family plays a real role here, too. Many Filipino companies are family-owned, and hierarchy carries weight: decisions often land with senior executives even when everyone in the room has had a chance to weigh in.

National and religious festivals often double as relationship-building moments outside the office. And it’s worth adjusting expectations around time. Punctuality doesn’t always carry the same weight it does in Western business settings, so a patient, collaborative approach paired with genuine cultural sensitivity will serve visiting businesspeople well.