What Are the Thriving Business Sectors for Foreign Investors in the NCR

As an investor, knowing the right business location is very important since it's one of the factors that would influence the demand and potential return of your investment. In the Philippines, the region with the most booming economy is, of course, the National Capital Region. To give you a bit of background about this area, here are some facts you might want to know;

 - The other, albeit more popular, names for NCR are Metropolitan Manila or Metro Manila.

 - It is composed of the City of Manila, 15 other cities, and 1 municipality.

 - The Philippine Stock Exchange is in Makati City.

 - The two most prominent financial districts in the country are Makati Financial and Central Business District and Ortigas Center.

 - Lastly, 33% of the Philippines’s GDP comes from Metro Manila.

From an investor's point of view, it's quite obvious that Manila is one of the most highly favourable locations for a business or any financially related activity. But which industries or business sectors should you turn your attention to? Well, here are the top five sectors in the capital, according to a 2012 Guide for U.S. Companies.

Top 5: Water Resources Equipment and Services

With more than 11 million living the capital alone, it's quite easy to see why Metro Manila needs a huge amount of water daily. Recognising the importance of easy access to potable drinking water, and owing to the fact that more than half of the natural freshwater systems in the country are unfit for consumption, the government has seen the need to augment the demand by importing clean water from other countries. According to official data, the biggest suppliers of the Philippines in this sector are Singapore, Japan, and the U.S.

Top 4: Electrical Power Systems

The Philippine government has set into motion several action plans to provide more sufficient and stable energy sources to its people since the beginning of the current administration. Among the goals included in the action plans are:

   to be able to supply the whole country with electricity
   to promote energy efficiency and conservation
   to provide more reliable sources of power
   to develop a better energy distribution system
   to construct more and better energy facilities and infrastructures
   to further develop and utilise more alternative and renewable energy sources and technologies

The country is inherently rich in natural resources. However, in order to facilitate these action plans to fruition, the government and affiliated private sectors would need funding for its operations. In addition to that, power companies would also be needing all kinds of equipment and services in order to carry out the said projects.

Top 3: Medical Equipment

The medical sector relies highly on imported medical equipment and technologies. The top suppliers in this sector are the following countries: China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the U.S. And among the most in demand medical equipment the country imports are radiology equipment, breathing equipment, ultrasound equipment, MRI equipment, and other electronic medical equipment.

Top 2: Telecommunications

Filipinos are very fond of telecommunications technologies, especially of mobile devices such as cellphones, tablets, and laptops. Aside from that, it's estimated that about 5 million people in the country have broadband internet. Due to these, it's quite easy to see that investments in telecommunications is, and would continue to be so for a long time to come, among the top investment opportunities in the country.

Top 1: Information Technology

Due to a wealth of trained IT professionals in the country, one of its growing sectors is the Business Process Outsourcing industry. Indeed, the country has become one of the most reliable sources of readily available IT personnel worldwide. In fact, it is estimated that the BPO industry generated about 5.4% of the Philippines’ GDP in 2011 alone.

So yes, if you were thinking of investing in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila, you might want to check out these five top sectors, so you'd have a high probability of getting a return on your investment, and more. However, if you were looking to start a little smaller, to test the waters perhaps, you might look to its second capital, Cebu City. In fact, you can find a lot of reasonably priced commercial space for rent in Cebu where you could initially set up a small office. For more details on that, you can check the AppleOne Equicom Tower or Cebu IT Park.


Author Bio:
Gina writes for Regus, a multinational company that offers high quality products and services such as business lounges, fully furnished office spaces, well-equipped meeting facilities, and efficient workplace recovery services to all kinds of businesses worldwide.

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