New retail trade law proposed

MANILA – The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) is looking forward that the bill amending the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 will soon be passed by the Congress.

JFC lauded the approval of House Bill 59 in the House of Representatives on second reading last week, and hopes it will pass the third reading both in the upper and lower Houses.

Among the key changes in HB 59 is lowering the paid-up capital requirement

in retail trade to USD200,000 from the current USD2.5 million.

“This will increase competition, create jobs, support tourism, and improve consumer choice to the benefit of the economy and the Filipino consumer,” the JFC said in a statement Tuesday.

It added easing the minimum capital in retail trade activities will also attract more foreign investors to the country.

The country’s minimum paid-up capital in retail trade activities before was at USD10 million. It was lowered to USD5 million before easing

to the current level through the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000.

In the past two decades, more than 20 foreign retailers entered the Philippine market.

It was noted that when the bill is enacted into law, the USD200,000 threshold will be the lowest in Southeast Asia.