How Much is it to Set Up a Foreign-Owned Corporation in the Philippines
TL;DR: There are two very different numbers to plan for. The first is capital you invest into your own foreign-owned company — usually USD 200,000 for a domestic-market company and no minimum capital if you are an export enterprise. This is not a cost; it stays on your balance sheet and funds working capital and operations. The second is the actual cost to register and become operational, which at korp.ph is PHP 214,500 (about USD 3,575), all-in and inclusive of SEC/BIR/LGU and 3-months of virtual office and corporate secretary for a full majority foreign-owned setup. Target timeline for full business registration is around 6 weeks.
Why the cost question is hard to answer cleanly
If you have searched for the cost to set up a foreign-owned corporation in the Philippines, you have probably found a dozen pages that answer a different question than the one you asked. Most lead with a service package price, not the actual all-in cost structure. A few quote one number and skip the needed explanation on capital requirement entirely. The result is that a founder comparing the Philippines to other markets like Singapore or Vietnam cannot get a clean figure to put in a model.
This guide gives you the figures you are looking for. And it separates the two things founders constantly merge into one: (1) the capital you invest into the company, and (2) the cost you pay to register it and get operational. One is money that stays yours and funds the business; the other is money you actually spend. Treating them as a single "cost" is the most common reason a Philippine expansion budget comes out wrong.
The numbers here apply to a domestic stock corporation that is more than 40% foreign-owned, which is the structure most global founders use. Branches and representative offices follow different rules, and we flag where that matters.
Part one: the capital you invest (not a cost)
A foreign-owned corporation that sells to the Philippine domestic market needs a minimum paid-in capital of USD 200,000. That figure drops to USD 100,000 if any one of three conditions is met: the company uses advanced technology, as certified by the DOST; it is endorsed as a startup or startup enabler under the Innovative Startup Act, via the DTI, DICT, or DOST; or a majority of its direct employees are Filipino, with no fewer than 15 Filipino employees (filed as a notarised undertaking with the DOLE). For a team-heavy operation, the headcount route is often the most practical — hiring 15 or more Filipinos halves the capital floor on that basis alone.
The word that matters here is paid-in. This is not a fee. It is capital you fund into your own company and then use to run it. You are not handing USD 200,000 (or USD 100,000) to the government. You are committing it to the business, and it sits on your own balance sheet.
This is the single number that changes a Philippine expansion model most, so it is worth getting right before anything else. For a founder weighing markets, the capital floor is the real commitment of entry — but it is a commitment to your own business, not a fee. The registration cost below is small by comparison, but it is the part you genuinely spend.
When the capital requirement is lower or waived. An export enterprise that exports at least 60% of its goods or services is not bound by the USD 200,000 domestic-market floor. This is the exception that matters most to founders building outsourcing, software, or services operations that serve clients abroad. The treatment of export enterprises is set out in the implementing rules for export enterprises under the foreign-investment framework.
In practice, this splits foreign founders into two groups. If your Philippine entity will sell mainly to Philippine customers, plan for the USD 200,000 figure, or USD 100,000 if you qualify for a reduction. If your Philippine entity will mostly serve clients outside the country, which is the common shape for an outsourcing or support services team, you are an export enterprise and the high capital floor does not apply to you.
Knowing which group you are in before you file is the difference between a clean budget and a surprise. It is also the question an advisor will ask first, so it is worth answering for yourself.
Part two: the cost to register and become operational
Separate from capital, this is the money you actually spend to bring the company into existence and make it able to trade. The honest way to quote it is all-in — professional fees, 12% VAT, government fees, and the out-of-pocket items like notarisation and courier — because a government-fee-only figure tells a founder almost nothing about what leaves their account.
At korp.ph, a full majority foreign-owned setup — SEC incorporation plus BIR and local registration, taken through to operational readiness — is PHP 214,500, about USD 3,575, inclusive of 12% VAT, government fees, and internal expenses. That is the figure to put in your model: it covers the company from filing all the way to being able to invoice, hire, and operate, not just the SEC step.
One number to watch: these packages assume authorised capital up to PHP 1M, and SEC filing fees are charged at 1/5 of 1% of your authorised capital stock. A domestic-market foreign company that funds USD 200,000 of paid-in capital will usually declare authorised capital well above PHP 1M, which adds an SEC fee on the excess — budget for an adjustment on top of the package. An export enterprise, which carries no capital floor, can keep authorised capital modest and stays squarely within the package figure.
Beyond the registration package, plan for two operational set-up items that are not government charges and not part of the package: a corporate bank account opening deposit, which many banks set at around PHP 25,000 to PHP 50,000, and a registered office address if you do not have one. Note the bank deposit is your own money — like capital, it stays yours — not a fee.
How long does it take to incorporate?
A foreign-owned corporation is created by filing Articles of Incorporation with the SEC under the Revised Corporation Code, through the SEC eSPARC incorporation portal. SEC approval itself typically takes 1 to 2 weeks once your documents are complete and your capital is in place.
The full timeline is longer than the SEC step alone. After the SEC issues your Certificate of Incorporation, you register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue for your tax registration, then with your local government unit for business permits. Most founders with proper support complete the whole sequence, from filing to operational, in around 6-7 weeks.
The variable that moves this timeline most is document readiness, not government speed. Incomplete or inconsistent paperwork is the usual cause of delay, which is why founders who plan the document set up front tend to land at the faster end of the range.
What are the steps after the SEC certificate?
Once the SEC certificate is issued, the company is legally formed but not yet able to operate. You then register with BIR new business registration to obtain your Certificate of Registration and confirm your tax type, which you need before the company can issue official receipts or invoices. This step is sequential: it cannot start until the SEC certificate exists.
Next comes local registration. The Mayor's Permit and local business clearances are handled by the city or municipality where your office sits, and their processing is governed by the Ease of Doing Business law, which sets time limits on how long a local government unit may take. For the full sequence with each requirement, see the full foreign company registration process.
For founders who want the step-by-step in one place, the order is fixed: SEC first, BIR second, local permits third. Each step depends on the document issued by the one before it.
Is a subsidiary the cheapest structure for a foreign company?
Not always. A domestic subsidiary is the most common structure, but it is not automatically the cheapest, and the right answer depends on what the entity will do. A subsidiary is a separate Philippine corporation that you own, and it carries the full capital and registration profile described above. A branch or a representative office follows different capital and licensing rules and can be cheaper or more expensive depending on the activity. For example a representative office has no paid-in capital requirement, but instead requires an inward remittance of USD 30,000 from the head office, remitted annually to cover its expenses in the Philippines.
For a founder deciding the shape of the entity, the trade-off is control and liability against cost and speed. A subsidiary gives you a clean, separately incorporated Philippine company that can contract, hire, and bank in its own name. A representative office cannot earn local income at all. We cover the case for the corporate form in why founders incorporate a Philippine corporation.
The structural choice is worth making before the cost question, because it changes which capital rule applies. A founder who picks the structure first and prices it second avoids re-doing the entire model.
What is the real first-year picture for a foreign founder?
For a domestic-market foreign-owned corporation, the picture has three distinct parts. First, USD 200,000 of capital invested into your own business — money that stays yours. Second, an all-in registration cost of around PHP 214,500 (USD 3,575), with an SEC fee adjustment for authorised capital above PHP 1M (the SEC filing fee for a stock corporation is 0.2% of authorised capital stock). That registration figure already includes corporate secretary service and a registered virtual office address for the first three months. Third, the recurring services that begin once those first three months end: budget roughly USD 180 per month to continue the corporate secretary and virtual office for the remainder of the year, plus accounting and compliance — around USD 500 to 600 per month for regular operations with 5 to 10 employees. The money you actually spend to register is a small fraction of the capital you commit; the recurring services are the ongoing rhythm on top.
For an export enterprise, the shape flips. There is no USD 200,000 floor, so capital becomes a function of what the business needs to operate — often modest — and the all-in registration cost of roughly PHP 214,500, plus the recurring corporate secretary, virtual office, and accounting and compliance costs above, becomes the spend that actually matters. This is the common case for outsourcing, software, and services teams serving clients abroad.
The honest summary: separate the capital you invest from the cost you spend, and your model gets clear fast. For a domestic-market company the capital is the decision that dominates; for an export enterprise the all-in registration cost and ongoing services are the figures that matter most. A founder who knows which group they are in can build an accurate Philippine expansion budget in an afternoon.
Conclusion
The cost to set up a foreign-owned corporation in the Philippines comes down to two clear figures and one structural choice. The capital you invest is USD 200,000 for the domestic market, USD 100,000 with a qualifying reduction, or freed from that floor entirely if you are an export enterprise — money that stays in your business. The cost to register is separate, all-in around PHP 214,500 (USD 3,575) for a full majority foreign-owned setup. And the structure you pick, subsidiary or otherwise, decides which capital rule applies to you.
Three takeaways for a founder pricing the move: separate capital from fees before you model anything, confirm whether you are an export enterprise before you assume the high floor, and plan the document set early to land at the faster end of the six-to-seven-week timeline.
When you are ready to put real numbers against your own plan, korp.ph's incorporation pricing for foreign-owned companies lays out the full path from filing to operational, with the all-in figure for your ownership structure in one place.
FAQ
How much does it cost to set up a foreign-owned corporation in the Philippines?
There are two different numbers. The first is capital you invest into your own company — USD 200,000 for a domestic-market company, USD 100,000 with a qualifying reduction, and no floor for an export enterprise. This is not a cost; it stays yours. The second is the actual cost to register, which at korp.ph is PHP 214,500 (about USD 3,575) all-in for a full majority foreign-owned setup, with an SEC fee adjustment if authorised capital exceeds PHP 1M.
What is the minimum capital for a foreign-owned company in the Philippines?
A foreign-owned domestic market corporation needs USD 200,000 in paid-in capital. This drops to USD 100,000 if any one of three conditions is met: the company uses advanced technology (certified by the DOST), is endorsed as a startup or startup enabler under the Innovative Startup Act, or has a majority of Filipino direct employees with no fewer than 15 of them. The capital is funded into your own company, not paid to the government.
Do export companies still need USD 200,000 in capital?
No. An export enterprise that exports at least 60% of its goods or services is not bound by the USD 200,000 domestic-market floor. This is why outsourcing, software, and services teams serving clients abroad can incorporate with far less committed capital.
How long does it take to register a foreign-owned corporation in the Philippines?
SEC approval usually takes 1 to 2 weeks once documents and capital are in order. The full sequence through BIR and local permits typically takes around 6 to 7 weeks with proper support. Document readiness is the main factor that decides where you land in that range.
Is a subsidiary cheaper than a branch in the Philippines?
Not always. A subsidiary is a separate Philippine corporation that carries the full capital and registration profile. A branch or representative office follows different capital and licensing rules and can be cheaper or more expensive depending on the activity, so the structure should be chosen before the cost is priced.
