Doing Business in BGC
Advantages
For companies considering setting up offices in Metro Manila, the
main advantage of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) over other locations is
that BGC is a well-planned and executed
urban center, thus providing employees with a pleasant and safe working
environment when they reach BGC. There is affordable housing for
skilled workers nearby, and a lot of high-end accommodation for company executives including expatriate staff.
There is also a high concentration of international schools in the area
to entice expat families to move to BGC.
BGC is currently under the administration of Taguig City, even
though there is a court ruling in 2013 that declared BGC to be part of
Makati City. Taguig City claims to have
advantages over Makati City in some business taxes.
For a detailed comparison on the business taxes of the two cities, read here.
According to the same source, a 2011 World Bank survey of 25 cities
in the Philippines ranked Taguig City ÔÇ£3rd in terms of ease of starting a
business, 2nd in terms of Ease of
Dealing with Construction Permits and 6th in terms of Ease of
Registering a Property.ÔÇØ In the same study, Makati City ranked 20th, 9th
and 21st in the same categories.
Disadvantages
The cost of land is high compared with other parts of Metro Manila.
Infrastructure connecting BGC to places outside of BGC is not adequate.
Workers living farther in Metro Manila
suffer the same commuting pressure as workers in Makati City, resulting
in productivity loss.
Rent Level: In early 2014, office rent in BGC is around P700-P900 per square meter for top grade offices. (Source:
here.)
Supply and Location: According to real estate service company Jones
Lang LaSalle, BGC accounted for 46% of a total 285,230 sq. m. of
pre-commitments signed as of end-2013. Quezon
City came in second with 23%, while Makati City contributed 19%.
Currently, new office buildings under construction include 11th
Corporate Center (nearly completed), World Plaza (turnover probably in
2017), Net Park (expected turnover in 2015),
W City Center (turnover expected in 2016), High Street South Corporate
Towers (turnover expected in 2017), One World Place (completing in
2014/5) and One Park Drive (turnover expected
in 2017).
Government Offices and Procedures:
To see a list of requirements for starting a new company in Taguig,
please see this very useful page prepared by the World Bank: read
here.
The list is daunting, and the actual
procedure is even more complicated, but that can be said about doing
business anywhere in the Philippines. Taguig City Hall has a satellite
office on the 3rd floor of Market! Market!
a popular mall in BGC, for businesses to apply for or renew their
business permits.
Taguig City official website is: here.
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has a branch office in Bonifacio
Global City, namely Regional District Office No. 44 ÔÇô Taguig- Pateros,
located at 3rd Floor, Bonifacio Technology
Center, 31st Street corner 2nd Avenue, Bonifacio Global City. BIR’s official website is: here.
Your company and your new staff can get their very important TIN
numbers there, so that you can credit income tax withheld from their
payroll to their BIR account, and also have a
TIN for your company to meet the numerous BIR filing requirements.
Apart from BIR filings, companies in the Philippines have to file
returns and contributions to the Social Security System, PhilHealth and
Pag-IBIG for their staff. Unfortunately,
not all the banks in BGC accept SSS payments, and even fewer for
PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG. This is a general problem for businesses in the
Philippines, not just BGC, though.
Bonifacio Technology Center also known as “Yellow Building.”
