[ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS ENTITY IN THE PHILIPPINES]
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5. Regional Operating Headquarters Under Philippine law, any multinational company may establish a Regional Operating Headquarters if they exist under the laws of another country, and if the multinational has branches, affiliates and subsidiaries in the Asia-Pacific Region and other foreign markets. The establishment of such an office, however, requires two certifications, an endorsement, and proof of remittance of capitalization, namely: • A certification from the Philippine Consulate or Embassy or the Philippine Commercial Office or from the equivalent office of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry office in the multinational corporation’s home country, certifying that said foreign entity is engaged in international trade with affiliates, subsidiaries or branch offices in the Asia-Pacific region and other foreign markets; • A certification from a principal officer of the applicant multinational corporation that it has been authorized by its board of directors to establish its regional operating headquarters in the Philippines; • And endorsement from the Philippine Board of Investments; and • Proof of inward remittance of at least US $ 200,000.00. 6. Regional Area Headquarters The requirements of a regional operating headquarters apply as well to a regional area headquarters, and only the amount of remittance varies, thus:
• A certification from the Philippine Consulate or Embassy or the Philippine Commercial Office or from the equivalent office of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry office in the multinational corporation’s home country, certifying that said foreign entity is engaged in international trade with affiliates, subsidiaries or branch offices in the Asia-Pacific region and other foreign markets; • A certification from a principal officer of the applicant multinational corporation that it has been authorized by its board of directors to establish its regional area headquarters in the Philippines; • And endorsement from the Philippine Board of Investments; and • Proof of inward remittance in such amount as may be necessary to cover its operations in the Philippines which shall not be less than US $ 50,000.00. IV. Governance, Regulation, Maintenance, and Reporting Requirements In general, all corporations in the Philippines must submit, annually, a General Information Sheet and an Audited Financial Statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission. This includes branch offices, representative offices, regional area headquarters, or regional operating headquarters, even though they only act for and in representation of a foreign business entity and have no legal personality of their own. The requirement for local shareholding depends on the industry in which the company will operate in. The Philippines has certain nationalized and partially nationalized industries, and any entity operating in such
ILN Corporate Group – Establishing a Business Entity Series
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