The Philippines, real estate market, has been a lucrative investment opportunity for Filipinos and foreigners alike for quite some time now.

The Filipino residential property market soared in 2016 due to commendable economic growth, supported by reducing lending rates, strengthening US dollar, improvement in tourism, heightened public and private expenditure resulting in job generation, as well as the robust inflow of money from foreign investors or OFWs.

This trend is expected to sustain in 2017 which promises to be another profitable year for the Filipino real estate market.

HomeLand, Foreign Money

The majority of the potential investors in this market comprise of foreigners, expats and OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). 

Foreigners are allowed to purchase property in the Philippines as is covered by the Condominium Act which puts a cap of 40{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} on the FDI investment in a particular real estate project. A foreigner may purchase an apartment or a condo but may not purchase land. He can only lease it for 50 years which can then be extended for 25 years.

OFWs and Filipinos residing abroad, have the same ownership rights as the domestic Filipino. Nearly 2 million Filipinos leave their home country each year to work abroad, but all the while save to nurture their dream of investing in a home for their family in the Philippines.

The Philippines is the second largest recipient of remittances throughout Asia. The remittances by the OFWs hit a record high of $2.56 billion in December 2016, up 3.6{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} on a year-on-year basis as per Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released data, and this upward trend has been steady for the past ten years, showing no signs of waning.

However, not even 10{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of the 10.2 million Filipinos working abroad have yet made this coveted real estate investment which leaves a lot of scope for the real estate’s developers to penetrate the market even further, confirming a continual upward graph of the property prices.

Thus, the industry is dynamic, and 2017 shows signs of being an exciting year for the real estate brokers and developers.

QuikWire- Providing tools to exploit the Goldmine

However, in spite of the Philippines being declared a real estate superstar, developers often find it difficult to close deals. The reason for this is a simple ground level difficulty faced by Expats, OFWs and Foreigners in carrying out secure cross-border transactions such as payment of mortgages, bills, instalment deposits and so on.

Quickwire has been that significant venture, which has altered this situation dramatically, by transforming the cross-border payment landscape, riding the wave of digitisation. A platform which enables secure cross-border bill payments by enterprises in the Philippines which handle foreign-based clients, Quickwire has been manna from heaven for the real estate market, enabling smooth bill payments and collection without any hassle.

This innovative cross-border payment platform has been set up to allow users to pay their bills through their debit or credit cards, ACH or Bitcoins without compelling the user to have any specific bank account as is usually the case, thus avoiding aberrant payments and money mismanagement.

One of the few MSBs (Money as a Service Business) to be registered with the esteemed US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) Quickwire provides the service of efficiently using multiple channels and facilities provided by international banks for collecting and dispersing payments.

They have many facilities in the USA and are supported by Wells Fargo and many major local banks. The electronic ACH used by this platform allows them to collect payments from any bank account in the US  and also enables them to transfer to and receive money from anywhere in the world.

Since US banks underwrite them, they can offer very low credit card processing rates, competitive exchange rates and speedy service about any bank in the Philippines.

Approved by the Third Party Payments Aggregator (TPPA) in the Philippines, Quikwire is currently focusing on developing the real estate market in the Philippines through its indispensable services at enabling secure cross-border payment facilities. 

LSI: real estate market in the Philippines, cross-border payment platforms, Filipinos working abroad, Foreigners allowed to purchase property in the Philippines, Filipino residential property market, the Philippines real estate market, real estate investment by foreigners in the Philippines.

It is no surprise that the Philippine real estate is every buyer’s most preferred choice. With its growing economy, Philippines is simply one of the best places to invest. It has outgrown many nations in Asia such as Taiwan, Japan and Korea. In fact, according to Bloomberg, it has been cited the second fastest growing economy in the world, China being the first.

Let us see the terms of owning a property in the Philippines.

Land ownership in the Philippines   

Although there is much interest given to the Philippines real estate market, the country does not allow foreigners to own real property. But, you could buy condo units. However, you will have to meet the condition that your ownership in a single project does not go beyond 40 percent. This is what is stated in the Condominium Act.

No foreigner can own a land that the property is built on unless he/she is a legal/natural heir to the property. Also, if a foreigner is married to a citizen of the country, then, he/she can obtain land through their spouse. Other options to own the land include a long-term lease where you can acquire the land on lease for fifty years initially or act as a shareholder of any company in the country buying a land.

If you are a former Filipino, you could own up to 1000 square meters of land in the urban area, while in the rural area, you can own only one hectare of land, given that it is exclusively for residential purposes. Also, you could regain citizenship and any property as normal citizens, without any restrictions.

Now that we’ve looked at the terms of foreign investment in the Philippines let us look at why it is the ideal place to invest in.

Urban renewal

In the year 2014, Philippines had a population of 100 million, and it has been increasing ever since. This gave a need for the chief urban centres to undergo renewal to meet the increasing real estate demands. Since there are not many lands that can be developed in regions that are well built already, take, for example, the Metro Manila, urban renewal is expanding to other regions that were previously not very well known.

The real estate market could get a boost if foreign ownership is encouraged

Earlier, we stated the restrictions imposed on foreigners when it comes to owning land in the Philippines. With these restrictions in place, the entire worth of the real estate industry in the country is at $48 billion. But, according to reports, if the constraints on foreign investors were relaxed a bit, extending lease terms, then it could reach up to $300 billion in a while.

Long-term economic stability

The economy of Philippines has been growing, and as mentioned earlier, it is the world’s second fastest growing economy. The economic growth of the country was at 5.8 percent in the year 2015 and was predicted to increase by at least 6 percent in the coming years. Moreover, it also reported a GDP growth of 6.9 percent, beating China for the first time.

QwikWire: A cross-border payment solution provider

Although there are many restrictions on foreign investment, you should go ahead and explore the options so that you could benefit from the various opportunities in the country.

All you need to do is select the right platform to carry out your transactions. If you are worried about not being able to carry out your amortisation, here is one company to your aid: QwikWire. You can visit their website here: www.qwickwire.com

They carry out cross-border payments and also customise your billings. They also have modules for balloon and partial payment. Moreover, the website is safe to use, and none of the information related to your credit card will be stored.

On the whole, this is an excellent platform for you to manage your bills easily, all in one place, with just a few clicks.

LSI Keywords: Philippines, economy, country, real estate market, restrictions on foreign investment, foreign ownership, land ownership in the Philippines, Philippines real estate market, owning a property in the Philippines.

In the global business arena, the market has become more competitive for each and every local and global business firm.

To solve this problem, companies have to strategically look at a selection of business locations. Not only from the customer’s perspective but also from a business standpoint.

It is important for a company to plan and locate its facility or business centre to reduce costs and increase profits.

However, placement and selection of business entity are cumbersome as well as expensive if the company wants multiple centres.

More often than not, if an organisation’s expected profits do not match its plan, the organisation has to let go of the space. That would mean a dead investment in business terms.

UAE is a Known Haven For Technological Advancements

Many global organisations also prefer this country for investments as it has state-of-the-art facilities and a cosmopolitan crowd that means a more diverse customer base.

UAE is also closely connected to other Gulf countries. Hence, business entities can also establish their bases in surrounding countries.

Many organisations consider taxation as a major aspect when planning to rent properties abroad. UAE has a low taxation policy hence, more profit to the organisation.

UAE has the 31st position, as awarded by the World Bank regarding financial capability.

The barrier of language as a means of business communication plagues the Arab nation, but in UAE, English is preferred for doing business.

UAE is Liberal In Its Approach As Much As Western Countries

UAE also has the best Internet penetration. Hence, the IT infrastructure is one to be considered when selecting a domain for business.

When selecting and setting up a business centre in UAE, the organisation must take into consideration the topography of the establishment.

The establishment should have good facilities like water, electricity, etc.

The location is an important factor when looking out for a business space. Again, facilities-centric locations will cost more than slightly offsite spaces.

In this sense, the organisation will have to look out for the best property to rent and make a decision quickly whether to buy it or not.

Another keyword when renting out office space is the price. In these terms, Dubai is blessed with a range of prices for commercial spaces to suit every business’s need.

Many spaces have hidden costs which need to be looked at. So when you go office hunting ask the broker specifically for any stealth costs involved in renting the property.

Since UAE already has a wide range of spaces, it is better to determine how much space a single individual would need to conduct his/her duties. Work out the actual floor space before approaching a dealer.

Even though the selection of business entity is not possible but choosing the right area for coordination and easy availability of resources is crucial.

Hence, when renting commercial properties in Dubai, one should think of flyingcolor.com. They provide a range of services for Dubai mainland and all free zone purchases.

LSI Keywords: selection of business locations, selection of business, selection of business entity