Bill grants 100% ownership to foreign investors in retail business

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MANILA — Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao has filed a bill granting 100% ownership to foreign capitalists who will engage in retail business in the country.

House Bill 4402 amends the Retail Trade Liberalization Law or Republic Act 8762 by removing the capital requirement provision of the retail trade law that prohibits foreign investors from owning wholly retail business in the Philippines.

Aggabao said the bill seeks to address some of the perceived loopholes in the Retail Trade Liberalization Law, particularly in the capital requirement before a foreign entity may wholly own a retail establishment.

“It proposes to do away with these restrictions by removing the equipment and capitalization requirements in the Retail Trade Liberalization Law in order to provide a more attractive and favorable investment climate in the country,” Aggabao said.

Aggabao said from 2000 to 2009, foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail and wholesale sector combined was only one percent of the total FDI.

Under the bill, foreign capitalists may be allowed to wholly own a retail business in the country with a paid up capital of .5 to .5 million.

Likewise, foreigners may wholly own enterprises specializing in high-end or luxury products with a paid-up capital of only 0,000 per store.

The bill provides that foreign investors shall be required to maintain a full amount of their capital or the unsold amount of their capital in case any part of the capital is sold to a Filipino citizen or a local corporation when they cease operation in the country.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shall impose sanctions to foreign investors who fail to maintain the prescribed capital of their retail business.