Moving to Philippines & Starting a Business

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Member since 10 March 2014

kawaiifl7Member10 March 2014 14:33:10

Hello Everyone,

First, I want to express my gratitude towards the individuals that are able to post a response to my inquiry!

My boyfriend and I have a BPO Call Center based in the USA. We've been aggressively seeking opportunities to invest our money into areas that will help expand our call center. Fortunately, we've been presented with an opportunity from our current and only client (call center recently opened up), to be able to outsource our work to individuals in the Philippines. Here is a snippet of our vision:

We'd like to continue to work with our current client, which will guarantee not only the two of us work, but guarantee us work that we can provide to our agents that we use in the Philippines. We'd like to rent commercial property, and be able to house a call center with the initial seating capacity of fifty agents. We would like to be able to move to the Philippines and live there, as we establish the business, and continue to push our sales to other organizations in the USA and internationally, so we can continue to grow the BPO Call Center.

Finding information online has been extremely difficult in terms on consistency. I've been unsuccessful at just capturing the basic information in order to get started. We're hoping to do this within 12 months or less. Understanding a rough estimate of the capital necessary to get started it the Philippines has also been a challenge. What we're trying to understand is the following:

1. With my business partner and I being US Citizens, are we able to move to the Philippines and establish a business where we have 100% ownership of the company? If so, what fees are associated with this (If possible)? From what we've been reading, there is a way to accomplish this, but it is easiest to set it up where 60% ownership of the business happens with a Filipino?

2. Will we be able to lease commercial property in the Philippines, and what are good online resources that we can use to research commercial property that may be available for rent?

3. Is there a homeshoring network available in the Philippines already? (Homeshoring meaning individuals are able to work remotely from home, and are equipped with the necessary technology to ensure compatibility with software necessary to do the work). If so, is it simply much more easy to establish an online based organization, that will support workers in both the USA and Philippines?

4. Which visa type would be recommend for the two of us regarding our situation?

5. Can I maintain my business bank account in the US, and open a Philippines bank, and set up transferring to occur that way?

As you may be able to tell, we're still in the infancy stages of the research and development for this expansion. We have identified that the Philippines is where we want to go, and are looking for a little guidance to push us in the right direction for actually planning the move to the Philippines. Our ideal destination would be Cebu City.

Again, thanks in advance for your assistance!

missbillygoat993 New member

Member since 13 February 2014

missbillygoat993New member13 March 2014 17:24:59

You can put up a business here check SEcurity and Exchange Commission for the requirements.

You can rent here but you cannot buy land since both of you are foreign. You can buy and own a condo though. If you have a Filipino partner then the company can buy a property.

Call Center is a big trend in business here now. I live outside of downtown makati and there are still Convergys and other call centers here.

Visa you can apply for SRRv wherein you will out money in the Philippine bank and you get a permanent residence or you employ 10 or more filipinos to wprk and apply for a Special working Visa not so sure about the name but it was offered to us since we have a business here.

kawaiifl7 Member

Member since 10 March 2014

kawaiifl7Member13 March 2014 18:29:28

Hi missbillygoat993!

Thank you so much for replying to my post. I've been patiently waiting for a response.

I was not aware that there was a special working visa available, and that I need to employ only 10 more more Filippinos. Do you happen to know if it would need to be an employer and employee relationship, or can they be contractors? Either way, I'll definetly look into that more.

We were considering Cebu City for opening the call center. Do you know much about that area, and if there are a lot of BPO call centers in the area? Would you recommend Cebu City for living as well?

Again, thanks so much for the help!

missbillygoat993 New member

Member since 13 February 2014

missbillygoat993New member13 March 2014 18:45:21

Been to Cebu but didn't like it. Some say its like Manila maybe in some points yes but its not like Manila where you have high end malls or high end Villages and some would still need to go to other areas to avail of govt agency.
Not sure if they have BPO there.
If you avail of the Special working visa you will have to give them benefirs and pay govt agencies like Sss, BIR, philhealth etc.
you can also open a bank here and just transfer your money US to Phil or vice versa.
Right now they are kinda strict with Call Centers specially in some areas in the province/rural since a lot had opened up a cybersex den but saying its a Call Center and mostly tourists are behind it.
Registration at first will be tedious but it will be easy later on to renew.
The visa is called Special visa Employnent Generation

propertyspecialist Member

Member since 19 March 2014

propertyspecialistMember19 March 2014 10:08:28

(Moderated: No free advert on the forum please)

ishar18 Active member

Member since 30 April 2011

ishar18Active member26 March 2014 14:28:32

Hi Kawaii,

I understand what you've been going through.

With your first question, yes you can open 100% ownership if you will employ at least 50 people plus the initial investment required by the government. I would recommend this to save you from headache. Although documentation will be tedious, but you are 100% owner.

Second question, yes you can lease property, I can recommend reliable broker for that.

Third, yes you can do homeshoring, but it's best if your business in Manila.

Fourth, Investor's visa is best for you both

Fifth, I would suggest you use Citibank or HSBC , they have facilities for your needs.

If you need more questions, just pm me, as I don't follow forum threads. You can check my profile posts, as I remember I did gave advices in the past.

Flying Fox Active member

Member since 13 January 2011

Flying FoxActive member26 March 2014 22:18:05

U beliv olso on Chrismas!!

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