Doing business in Singapore for clients from the Philippines
A Philippine group moving into the wider region has to decide where to manage it. Singapore gives you an English-speaking legal system and a seat for regional staff and finance within ASEAN.
Regional management in a shared language
Philippine conglomerates, family businesses and founders share English as a working language with a legal system built on English law, which makes documents and negotiations easier to carry across. Singapore can house the regional finance or management team. Hiring there means meeting the work-pass rules, and from 1 January 2027 new Employment Pass applicants need at least S$6,000 a month at age 23 or below, rising to S$11,500 at 45 and above. Crypto-asset firms should note that the Philippines regulates virtual-asset service providers through its central bank.
Tax treaty and trade agreements
The Philippines is listed as a treaty partner of Singapore under a comprehensive double taxation agreement. Both countries belong to the ASEAN trade agreement (ATIGA, in force 2010), and RCEP has applied to the Philippines since June 2023.
Below you will find the articles written for clients from the Philippines as they are published, followed by the sections of the book Singapore as an International Financial Centre. Your own lawyers advise you on the law of the Philippines.
Singapore as an International Financial Centre
Singapore · Book
Singapore as an International Financial Centre — preface
Singapore · Origins
A Place on the Strait: Temasek, Singapura and the Maritime Trade of the Malay World
Singapore · Origins
The Strait of Malacca as a corridor of trade
Singapore · Origins
Temasek and Singapura in the fourteenth century: archaeology and chronicle
Singapore · Origins
Malacca, Johor and the Riau archipelago
Singapore · Origins
Portuguese, Dutch and British rivalry in the Straits
Singapore · Origins
What the pre-colonial port teaches about location and trust
Singapore · Origins
A Place on the Strait: Temasek, Singapura and the Maritime Trade of the Malay World: summary
Singapore · Origins
Raffles, the East India Company and the Free Port of 1819
Singapore · Origins
The East India Company and the China trade
Singapore · Origins
Stamford Raffles and William Farquhar
Singapore · Origins
The agreements with Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong
Singapore · Origins
The free-port principle: open to every flag
Singapore · Origins
Early growth and the first merchant community
Singapore · Origins
What 1819 means for the financial centre
Singapore · Origins
Raffles, the East India Company and the Free Port of 1819: summary
Singapore · Origins
The Treaties of 1824 and the Legal Foundations of British Singapore
Singapore · Origins
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
Singapore · Origins
The Treaty of Friendship and Alliance of 1824
Singapore · Origins
The Straits Settlements and the Second Charter of Justice
Singapore · Origins
The reception of English law
Singapore · Origins
Land, title and the security of property
Singapore · Origins
Practical consequences for today’s practitioner
Singapore · Origins