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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the 13th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List (RFINL), outlining updated foreign ownership limits in key sectors.
Executive Order (EO) 113, or Promulgating the 13th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List, was signed on 13 April upon the recommendation of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev).
“Whereas, according to DEPDev, there is a need to amend the 12th RFINL to reflect changes to Negative Lists A and B, pursuant to existing laws and consistent with the policy to ease restrictions on foreign participation in certain investment areas or activities,” the order stated.
Republic Act (RA) No. 7042, or the Foreign Investments Act of 1991, as amended by RA Nos. 8179 and 11647, mandates the formulation of an RFINL covering investment areas or activities open to foreign investors and/or reserved for Filipinos.
The order also stressed that Section 8 of RA No. 7042 authorizes the President to amend the RFINL upon the recommendation of DEPDev.
Section 1 of the order provides that, under the 13th RFINL, only the listed investment areas and/or activities shall be reserved for Philippine nationals, subject to stated exceptions and conditions.
“Section 2. Amendments. Amendments to Negative List A may be made at any time to reflect changes instituted in specific laws, while amendments to Negative List B shall not be made more often than once every two (2) years, pursuant to Section 8 of RA No. 7042, as amended, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations,” the order stated.
The 12th RFINL reflected full foreign ownership liberalization in telecommunications, domestic shipping, railways and subways, and air transport, as provided under amendments to the Public Service Act.
The revised list also incorporates amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, setting a uniform minimum paid-up capital of $500,000 (P25 million), down from as much as $2.5 million to $7.5 million, for non-luxury foreign retailers.
