Setting Up a Back Office in the Philippines
What is a Representative Office and what type of business activities are best suitable for this entity?
Rundown of Representative Office in the Philippines
Representative Office is one of the entities available for investors who has an ongoing business in their home country already. This is mostly chosen by foreign companies who are interested in doing back office operations in the Philippines.
Are all investors allowed to choose the Representative Office?
The answer is no, only companies that have a running company abroad will only be allowed to register under this entity. Since the nature of this entity is “Back Office”, the Philippine government requires the corporate documents, especially the financial statement of the parent company since it will still be the registered owner of the entity in the Philippines. This means that the corporate officers of the foreign company will be followed.
Can the Representative Office generate revenue in the Philippines?
Companies registered under the Representative Office are not allowed to generate revenue in the Philippines. It will only serve as the back office of the parent company and will only be a support office.
What are the initial requirements in setting up a Representative Office?
1. Financial Statement of the Parent Company
- The Philippine government requires the financial statement of the parent company for the past 3 years.
- The purpose of this is to make sure that the parent company has enough funds and assets to support the Representative Office.
2. Required Inward Remittance
- The required inward remittance for a Representative Office is at least 30,000 USD.
- The amount shall be transferred during the initial process as part of SEC requirements.
3. Consularized Documentation of the Corporate Documents
- A list of the parent company's corporate documents together with the financial statement are strictly required to be authenticated in the Philippine Embassy located in the parent company's country.
4. Local Resident Agent
- This is the only officer requirement needed for this entity.
- The local manager of the Representative Office can be assigned as the resident agent.
- The rule of thumb for this is that he or she must be a resident of the Philippines.
- JMI also offers this service and can be discussed via call.
