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The Philippines has seen continued foreign investment in the last year, with industries such as BPOs continuing to blossom. "The rise of such companies really takes advantage of the education and literacy dividend provided by a youthful and ambitious workforce," says a lawyer....

The Philippines has seen continued foreign investment in the last year, with industries such as BPOs continuing to blossom. "The rise of such companies really takes advantage of the education and literacy dividend provided by a youthful and ambitious workforce," says a lawyer. Investments from other Asian countries such as China, Japan and Korea are common, with work involving mining and natural resources particularly popular in the recent years.

Remittances continue to provide substantial fuel for the economy, though many offshore interests have been seen returning into the country recently. Many of the law firms have seen outbound interest from the domestic conglomerates, as the country looks to secure funding and resources for continued expansion and infrastructure growth.

The creation of a legal and regulatory framework for Reits (real estate investment trusts) in 2010 continues to be celebrated by practitioners, as it has brought a wave of transactional work for most law firms in the finance sector. "This is an exciting development for us," says a partner, "the changes made are beginning to set the country in line with global standards."

A further legislative development has been the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act of 2010, which came into effect in July 2010. This piece of legislation reduces the amount of time spent in courts and allows out of court rehabilitation. "It's a welcome change in the landscape," comments a lawyer.