Negociating With Philippines

Business with Asia
Importing and Exporting to Philippines

Table of Contents
General Information 3
History 3
Geography 3
Land 3
Climate 3
Borders 3
Demographics 3
Population Structure 3
Social Structure 3
Religion / Ethics 3
Education 3
Language 3
Culture 3
Communication 3
Politics 3
Government 3
Parliament 3
Political parties 3
Economics 3
Currency 4General Indicators 4
Inflation 4
GDP 4
Balance of Payments 4
Balance of Trade 4
Growth 4
Reasons 4
Bank system 4
Principal Banks 4
Major Industries 4
Business Structure 4
Trade 4
Principal Partners 4
Export 4
Import 4
Principal products 4
Exports 4
Imports 5
Logistics 5
Customs Office 5
Layout of the country 5
Law 5
Trade incentives 5
SMEs 5Bilateral Relationships 5
Trade agreements 5
Access barriers 5
Restrictions 5
Constitution of a company 5
Process 5
Requirements for foreigners 5
Taxes 5
VAT 5
Special taxes 5
Intellectual property rights 5
Labor 6
Wages 6
Social Security 6
General situation 6
Practical Information 6
Fairs 6
Forums 6
Entering the country 6
Hotels 6
Holidays 6
Other useful links 6References 7

General Information

History
The Philippines' aboriginal inhabitants arrived from the Asian mainland around 25,000 BC They were followed by waves of Indonesian and Malayan settlers from 3000 BC onward. By the 14th century AD , extensive trade was being conducted with India, Indonesia, China, and Japan.
Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain,explored the Philippines in 1521. Twenty-one years later, a Spanish exploration party named the group of islands in honor of Prince Philip, who was later to become Philip II of Spain. Spain retained possession of the islands for the next 350 years.
The Philippines were ceded to the U.S. in 1899 by the Treaty of Paris after the Spanish-American War. Meanwhile, the Filipinos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo,had declared their independence. They initiated guerrilla warfare against U.S. troops that persisted until Aguinaldo's capture in 1901. By 1902, peace was established except among the Islamic Moros on the southern island of Mindanao.
The first U.S. civilian governor-general was William Howard Taft (1901–1904). The Jones Law (1916) established a Philippine legislature composed of an electiveSenate and House of Representatives. The Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934) provided for a transitional period until 1946, at which time the Philippines would become completely independent. Under a constitution approved by the people of the Philippines in 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines came into being with Manuel Quezon y Molina as president.
On Dec. 8, 1941, the islands were invaded byJapanese troops. Following the fall of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's forces at Bataan and Corregidor, Quezon instituted a government-in-exile that he headed until his death in 1944. He was succeeded by Vice President Sergio Osmeña. U.S. forces under MacArthur reinvaded the Philippines in Oct. 1944 and, after the liberation of Manila in Feb. 1945, Osmeña reestablished the government.http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/philippines/philippines-overview/history-of-philippines.html
Geography
Land
The total area of Philippines is 300,000 sq km. Land area is 298,170 sq km and Water area is 1830 sq km. It is number 72 in the world. Philippines is near the size of Arizona in the U.S.

http://countrystudies.us/philippines/32.htm

Climate
The Philippines has a tropical marine climate dominatedby a rainy season and a dry season. The summer monsoon brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to October, whereas the winter monsoon brings cooler and drier air from December to February. Manila and most of the lowland areas are hot and dusty from March to May. Even at this time, however, temperatures rarely rise above 37° C. Mean annual sea-level temperatures rarely fall below...