In a memorandum sent to you last November 2015, we provided our

recommendation on entering the retail trade industry of the Philippines.

Aside from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this
endeavour involves the application and coordination with the National
Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the Board of Investments
(BOI) under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Before anything else, we would need to file an application for inclusion in

the List of Retailers Selling High-End or Luxury Goods (herein referred to
as the List) with NEDA. For this phase, we would need to submit the
following requirements:
1. A formal request stating the intention to be included in the List. The
letter should contain the following information, which you need to
provide to us:
a. The name of the foreign retailer;
b. Type of business organization;
c. Type of goods sold by the foreign retailer;
d. The country where the business was organized;
e. Principal office address;
f. The specialization or the line of business the foreign retailer is
engaged.
2. A letter from the principal office accompanied with a certificate of
authentication coming from the Philippine Embassy stating that
foreign retailer has at least five-year (5) track record in retailing and
the organization has at least five (5) retailing stores/branches in
operation anywhere around the world.
3. Information of the total number of stores in operation worldwide
(franchises, flagship stores and boutiques). The said information
should highlight stores located in areas frequented by tourist and
high-income groups.
4. Detailed information on all its products and brand portfolio must be
submitted. Complete product catalogues and price lists. The price
lists should include the standard world price and the suggested
retail price.
5. Annual report of the organization.
6. Other documents/information that may be deemed necessary for
the evaluation of the request.
Once all the requirements are completed, the application will be
submitted to NEDA for inclusion in the List. The application shall undergo
two levels of review: (1) the technical level; and (2) cabinet level, wherein
each level usually takes a minimum of six (6) months processing.
However, considering the coming national elections this May 2016, we are
expecting a change in cabinet members which will affect the length of

processing the NEDA application. Most likely, applications will be put on

hold and will only resume reviewing such upon assuming office of the new
cabinet members. Despite the cabinet transition and its effects, we can
proceed our application with BOI.
In this light, may we ask for your assistance in providing to us the
requirements above? As much as possible, it would be best to process the
application before the national elections. Rest assured that we will do it
right away.
Thank you for understanding this matter.