One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is:

Can a foreigner own 100% of a domestic corporation in the Philippines

And the answer is simply, Yes.

It is possible to own nearly 100% of the corporation to a foreigner depending on what is the nature of your business, some businesses are restricted from foreign ownership and some are limited to the amount of foreign ownership allowed these can be found on the Foreign Investment Negative List.

If not on the list it’s nearly 100% because you will be required to keep the corporate secretary and the treasurer must be Filipino and will need to hold at least one share of the company.

The cost of registering a domestic corporation and the inward remittance rely on 3 things.

1. How many employees will you be employing?
2. Are you utilizing an advanced technology?
3. Are you an export oriented business?

Registration costs with the SEC are 1 1/2 % of the inward remittance or paid up capital of the company which is usually 200,000 USD making the registration cost 3,000 USD plus another 100 USD filing fee.

Now if you are employing more than 50 workers or utilizing advanced technology the paid up capital which is the inward remitted amount can be reduced to 100,000 USD, the technology one will need to be validated by the Department of Science and Technology and could delay the registration for the company by up to 6 months.

If your business will be export oriented, which means that more than 70% of your finished product is bound for export market, there can be a significant reduction in the amount of paid up capital needed. The SEC doesn’t have a clearly defined amount but we recommend at least 20,000 USD in paid up capital.

I hope this has helped to clarify any issues regarding foreign ownership in the Philippines. Please Contact Us if you would like to setup a corporation whether foreign or locally owned and blog any questions you might have on the above material.