ABSTRACT
The Philippines is one of the emerging economies in Southeast Asia. Benefiting from political stability and more aggressive economic initiatives, the country is assuming a more active role in the global economic scene and has drawn significant attention from multinational corporations and institutional investors. The country, with an estimated population of 71.5 million in 1997, is an archipelago located between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Its territory consists of 7,100 islands, many of which are small and uninhabited. The three largest islands are Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Luzon is the most important and includes Manila, the country’s capital and financial centre.
