Philippines Books

Are There Business Opportunities To Be Had in The Philippines? We Take A Look.

The concensus of opinion is that the Philippines are totally bereft of decent business opportunities for Expats. Or, there is money to be made here if you have the right contacts. Or maybe the truth for most of us lies somewhere inbetween. If I was a multi national corporation looking to invest in a third world country I wouldn’t choose the Philippines. Not when other countries are more investor friendly. Agreed, when you hit the dizzy heights of multi-million dollar investment life here gets amazingly easier for those with the cash and the clout. Try “investing” just US$50,000 and the best they will offer you is a spurious SRRV, or special residents retirement visa. If you are thinking even less money, just something to get the family off your back but maybe provide you with a few bucks and something to do, then it is even more difficult.

You see, at the top end the oligarchy have it sewn up tight and enough political and commercial influence to keep things going their way. Down the bottom end of the scale they have no personal interest in the micro economy so they are happy to legislate against any non-Filipino involvement in most areas of business. In the middle, the small percentage of the population with the education and capital to fight over the remains have enough local clout to keep foreigners running around like headless chickens for years to come just trying to abide by the rules. In other words, it is pretty much a closed shop.

Or is it? Like anywhere else in Asia, there are always loopholes and exceptions and ways and means. Never take anything at face value and always believe there is another way. For some that is to operate in the name of the wife, or to bring on board tame locals even though this practice starts to dip into the posion jar known as the anti-dummy laws. Basically, anyone with the money to run with the big boys isn’t reading this newsletter and anyone who is looking at competing for a few peso’s a day won’t last long here anyway. What I’m looking at are business opportunities for the average expat and his kith and kin.

Firstly, you can set up family in business, or simply give them a few bucks and tell them to blow it, the end result for many is often the same. Cynicism aside, many family members do actually succeed in small business ventures. At first glance you might think the Philippines is a haven of natural entreppeneurship but the reality is that there is simply insufficient employment. If there are no jobs to be had then the only alternative other than begging is to create your own job by running a small business. The smallest of these I would say would be the cigarette vendors that walk the streets selling single cigarettes amongst the traffic. Opportunity Number 1: Buy up bulk cigarettes and gum and then onsell to these vendors at a mark up but less than what they buy their stock for from Prince and other warehouse outlets. The best deal for the customer would be to have the stock out on consignment, they only pay for what they sell each day. Hmmm, perhaps not the best business opportunity, lets move on.

Notice how every second or third house has a small opening in the grill around one of the windows. From this the goods are dispensed from the family Sari Sari store. If you peer inside you see the fridge with the coke and beer and ice chilling away, sachets of shampoo hang from the ceiling and the shelves have jars of candy and bags of junk food and cigarettes can be had singly or in packs. How does anyone expect to make a living when everyone sells the same products for the same price and there are almost as many stores as there are customers? The answer is that nobody really makes a living, everybody just scrapes by until the stock is consumed by family members and there is no cash left to buy more. What sales were made are on “utang” or credit and you won’t see that money in a long month of Sundays! Opportunity Number 2: This one was suggested by Ronald Turley on one of the Yahoo Groups. Set up a wholesale distribution service that supplies numerous stores with their basic staples, but at a better price than what they already pay.

I think it would be a workable venture but you would have to be good at stock control and have a decent inventory program on your computer. Plus you really have to stay abreast of prices and what sells and what doesn’t but it could be a going concern. I have always said one of the two ways to make money in the Philippines is to sell lots of little stuff for little prices to lots of people. There are lots of people here, they have small amounts of money and so they buy small amounts of stuff. Where else have you seen sachets of shampoo, ketchup, shoe polish and snacks?

Another idea I once had is Opportunity Number 3: Taking it to the streets! I suggested a variation of this to a Yahoo Group member who had a banca and was looking for things to do with it to make money other than fishing. I said why not stock up with lots of stuff and go visiting the small islands where the people have a hard time getting to a supermarket or big store. Another version of this would be to outfit a vehicle, even a tricycle but ideally a multi cab, fill it with goods and cheap clothes and such and head into the hills. Of course your first visit might not be a huge success but people might have saved some cash by the time you come around again. Of course you would have to refuse the utang and deal strictly cash. I think it might be a lucrative business and you could develop runs and even territories which could be sold off or franchised.

If you used a larger vehicle you could even start a mobile beauty shop or hairdressers. I just imagine a converted jeepney rolling along a provincial goat track with half a dozen Bayot hairdressers whistling at every Dong they pass! You might design a mobile disco truck and go from barangay to barangay and hold discos’ charging P10 each to enter. Or better still, combine the disco with the beauty parlour and have your own mobile beauty pageant! The mind boggles! Time for a Tanduay and a lie down while I think of more opportunities!