The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that as an added incentive, foreign investors visiting the Freeport zones in the country – Clark, Pampanga and Subic, Zambalez, can avail of the government’s “visa-free” program.
An agreement was signed recently by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza and Clark Development Corp. [...]

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is targeting to reach P360 billion for its collection this year from the country’s large taxpayers. The figure which is higher that the P339 billion collected last year, represents roughly 60 percent of the agency’s full-year target of P830 billion, said BIR Assistant Commissioner Nesto

Philip Morris International, Inc. (PMPI) joined forces with Philippine a cigarette company forming one big corporation that will control about 90 percent of the country’s lucrative cigarette market. The US-based tobacco giant formed a new company with local rival Fortune Tobacco Corp. (FTC), which is owned by Chinese-Filipino tycoon Lucio Tan.

The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) has awarded the Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) credit line worth P250 million. The ATI said the proceeds of the funds would be used to fund its projects in the next five years.
ATI, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), said it signed an agreement with Metrobank [...]

Infosys BPO Ltd. is planning to put up 3 more call center facilities, expanding its presence in the country. The business process outsourcing firm chief operating officer Ritesh Idnani said, “We are very bullish about the Philippines and we will continue to invest in the next few years.”
Idnani said that while their Philippines operations only [...]

Another opportunity rises for job seekers as another business process outsourcing firm (BPO) gears up for expansion. The Stream Global Services Inc., a BPO company which is partly owned by the Ayala group is looking to fill up 1,500 seats in the 60 days and open one or two more new sites during the first [...]

Salmat, an Australia-based business process outsourcing firm has been in the country since 1996, but company general manager of strategy Philip Hadcroft said they were doing mostly transactional services that served on the Philippine market.
Now, the Salmat has decided to put up an 800-seat facility at McKinley Hill in Taguig City, their first major investment [...]

The Subic Bay Freeport is fast becoming the country’s center of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE).  This was noted by Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano during the opening of the MICECON 2010 held recently.
“Subic opens up a new world for MICE since it offers a very wide array of both man-made and natural [...]

Now, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and even foreign investors outside the country can check a real estate property they are interested in, without necessarily being in the Philippines. That is because the Philippine Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association (CREBA) have deployed in the Internet the Philippines’ first fully-automated Web GIS parcellary mapping service. [...]

The country’s largest operator of mall chains, SM Prime Holdings Inc., is yet on another expansion as it announced its plan to start the construction of its new shopping mall located within the 240-hectare South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu 2010.
According to SM Prime chief financial officer Jeffrey Lim, the proposed shopping center will be [...]

There will not be any price increase on the cement, at least none until the end of March. This was the promise made by Holcim Philippines who said that they will not be increasing their price in Metro Manila in order to help those who were hit by the typhoons which devastated the country late [...]

The Senate Bill 3404 or the Philippine Immigration Act of 2010 has provision that raised concern to some business sectors. Section 30 of the said act grants Immigration Officers the power to assign personnel to do overtime work at rates fixed by him when the services rendered is to be paid for by the shipping [...]

Bibingkinitan! has embarked on an aggressive campaign to expand its number of outlets this year. The fast-rising Filipino food chain is aiming to open up about 100 new outlets all over the country, to bring its total number of stores to at least 250 by the end of 2010.
Richard V. Sanz, president and chief executive [...]

Convergys Corp., one of the leading business process outsourcing (BPO) company in the Philippines is gearing up for expansion this year, one of the main reason is that more clients are requesting that their accounts be handled by Philippines sites.
The company is looking to hire about 6,000 more employees this year , nationwide, in order [...]

This early, the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) has already opened 10 new branches to beef up its network to 60 branches all over the country. The 10 new branches were actually opened simultaneously last January 18.

Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. filed Senate Bill 3966 which is aimed in amending the Insurance Code in the Philippines. Pimentel believe that insurance firms should be compulsorily required to indemnify owner of motor vehicles that have been damaged or destroyed by floods, landslides, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

In the year 2010, the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, is seen to continue growing as it marks its 10th year in the Philippines. For this year, BPO is expected to earn at least $11 billion and continue employing over one million people in the country. But while the sector is optimistic, it also needs [...]

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI), member of the SM group companies, the largest mall chain in the country today, will soon be building the biggest shopping mall in the Visayas and Mindanao. In three years’ time, the P2-billion land deal between SMPHI and the city of Cebu is expected to be finished.

The world’s largest airline, Delta Air Lines Inc., will set up an office in the Philippines. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given a go signal for the company to set up its office in the country.
The new office is part of the company’s preparation to fold into its operations Northwest Airlines Corp, another [...]

Foreign companies are looking at the Philippines as possible investment target in their search raw materials for infrastructure projects. Investors from India and China want to prepare for the global economic recovery and thus are exploring the possibility of investing in the mining industry in the country.