i love your phrase “patrimony is only as good as the number of people it serves,”

i think it is worth mentioning as well that the foreign exchange rate policies of the philippines played a major role as well to the economic quagmire we are in. check out the book The Peso Exchange Rate: why are we so poor? (review here: http://elpo2001.multiply.com/reviews/item/4)

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Provided it’s a straight-up deal where the 40%-60% accurately reflect the level of investment of the participating parties, there’s nothing wrong with it. That, however, almost never happens. Most investment opportunities (at the SME level) for us expats involve us putting up 100% of the investment for a 40% stake — which we can partially compensate for by obtaining, if we can, sole signatory status on the corporation’s bank account. That is, however, a flimsy way to structure a company.

why does the ownership limit matter?

if u, for example, had 100k USD, why not invest in a business at 40% ownership?

what are the downsides? are there NO upsides?

i think it is worth mentioning as well that the foreign exchange rate policies of the philippines played a major role as well to the economic quagmire we are in. check out the book The Peso Exchange Rate: why are we so poor? (review here: http://elpo2001.multiply.com/reviews/item/4)

Great analysis. You nailed it on the head. The 1987 Constitution’s economic provisions effectively set the disastrous and corrosive economic policies of the 1950′s Garcia administration in concrete. And the Philippines has been paying the price ever since. “Filipino First” programs ultimately put the Filipino last. See http://www.forumcash.com/wordpress/why-is-the-philippines-poor/

Your article also implies (and I agree with this) that the economic provisions effectively made local Pinoy business elites mere JV partners instead of active/proactive wealth builders. In effect, “nangongomision” lang. Look at the recent Smartmatic JV deal for a clear example of this–the Pinoy partner’s only ‘investment’ is some token capital and the fact that they are a Pinoy company. The rest–the technology, the assets, the capital, is provided by the foreign partner.

We truly have come a long way towards how Alan Greenspan described Latin American economies: Wealth is not created, it is apportioned.