ARTICLE
12 November 2021

Proposed Easing Of Foreign Investment Restrictions In The Philippines

AO
A&O Shearman

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A&O Shearman was formed in 2024 via the merger of two historic firms, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. With nearly 4,000 lawyers globally, we are equally fluent in English law, U.S. law and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets. This combination creates a new kind of law firm, one built to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients on their most complex, multijurisdictional matters – everywhere in the world. A firm that advises at the forefront of the forces changing the current of global business and that is unrivalled in its global strength. Our clients benefit from the collective experience of teams who work with many of the world’s most influential companies and institutions, and have a history of precedent-setting innovations. Together our lawyers advise more than a third of NYSE-listed businesses, a fifth of the NASDAQ and a notable proportion of the London Stock Exchange, the Euronext, Euronext Paris and the Tokyo and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
The Philippines has introduced several restrictive foreign direct investment regulations over many years, but local lawmakers and the business community are pushing for changes to a decades-old law that could contribute to a post-pandemic economic recovery.
Philippines Government, Public Sector

PROPOSED EASING OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines has introduced several restrictive foreign direct investment regulations over many years, but local lawmakers and the business community are pushing for changes to a decades-old law that could contribute to a post-pandemic economic recovery.

Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, no franchise for the operation of a public utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under Philippine law that are at least 60 percent owned by Filipino citizens. What constitutes a public utility, however, is not defined in the Constitution. Instead, it has been indirectly defined by the legislature in the Commonwealth Act No. 146, also known as the Public Service Act (PSA), and by the judiciary in case law.

Read "Proposed Easing of Foreign Investment Restrictions in the Philippines."

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