Manila, 1 September 2022 – Philippine infrastructure requirements are changing as the world transitions to a more digitalized economy.
The Philippines logged one of the highest growth rates as an emerging data center market alongside Malaysia and Thailand, supporting the active digital profile of Filipinos. As the Philippines holds the second-largest subscriber base in the Asia Pacific region, hyperscalers are motivated to build their technology and communications infrastructure throughout the archipelago. The Philippines has attracted data center operators due to the local population’s high digital consumption. Philippine internet economy by Gross Merchandise Value doubled to USD 17 billion in 2021, driven by government initiatives and mass digital adoption due to the pandemic. Data shows that the number of internet and social media users in the Philippines rose by 6.1% in 2020 and 22% in 2021, with 89 million active social media users in 2021.2 More than the number of internet users, Filipinos are also a “sizeable tech-savvy population with stronger digital appetite and adoption to technology.” The latest statistics show that the Philippines has 74 million internet users who spend 10.5 hours online, the longest in the world.
The Arcadis Data Center Location Index 20213 ranked the Philippines as one of the most attractive countries to build data centers globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a significant boost to the Philippine data center market, in view of the increasing dependence on technology. This resulted in increased colocation uptake by existing customers and significant investments in new data centers and cloud regions. The growing demand for colocation, internet and cloud services necessitated the establishment of sophisticated in-country facilities.
Access Quisumbing Torres’ Developing and Operating Data Centers in the Philippines to learn more about the key legal issues for data center investors. The guide provides the relevant regulatory information including issues and considerations related to:
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Gil Roberto Zerrudo is a partner in the Employment Practice Group of Quisumbing Torres, where he is a member of its Management Committee, and co-head of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Group. Gil also participates in initiatives of Baker & McKenzie International of which Quisumbing Torres is a member firm. He is a member of Baker McKenzie’s Global Policy Committee, Nominating Committee and Asia Pacific Regional Council. In his more than 25 years of law practice, Gil is consistently cited as a Legal 500 and Chambers Asia Pacific Leading Individual for Employment. Gil’s strategic focus on Employment practice propelled his and the team’s consistent top-tier ranking since 2006 in The Legal 500 and 2014 in Chambers Asia Pacific.
Divina Ilas-Panganiban is a partner in Quisumbing Torres’ Intellectual Property, Data and Technology Practice Group and co-heads the Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Industry Group. She participates in initiatives of Baker & McKenzie International of which Quisumbing Torres is a member firm. She is a member of Baker & McKenzie International’s Asia Pacific TMT Steering Committee. She currently serves as the Vice-President and Director of the Philippine Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society International, the Chairperson of the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights, The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and the Chairperson of the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights of the European Chamber of Commerce. Divina heads the Subcommittee for East Asia and the Pacific of the Unreal Campaign of the International Trademarks Association (INTA) and is a Certified Information Privacy Manager by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Ina Dominguez is a partner in Quisumbing Torres’ Corporate & Commercial/M&A Practice Group. She is also a member of the Energy, Mining & Infrastructure and the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Groups. She advises domestic and foreign clients on issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, commercial law, real estate, mining and natural resources law, energy, and infrastructure projects. Ina is cited as a Next Generation Partner for Projects and Energy by The Legal 500 for 2020 to 2022.
Alain Charles Veloso is a partner of Quisumbing Torres’ Corporate & Commercial Practice Group. He heads the firm’s Capital Markets Practice Group and is a member of the Competition Focus Group. He is also a member of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Industrials, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Groups. He participates in the initiatives of Baker McKenzie International of which Quisumbing Torres is a member firm. He is a member of Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Competition Steering Committee. He has 15 years of legal practice, advising clients with regard to their transactions in the Philippines, including private and public M&A transactions, debt, and equity capital markets transactions, and structuring and establishment of their Philippine presence. Charles is also developing the Firm’s fintech practice, and handles various clients that are currently engaged in online travel, retail, financing, medical health, and insurance businesses in the Philippines. Charles is also active in the Firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. He heads the firm’s Inclusion & Diversity and B-Green committees. He is currently a Director of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Makati Chapter, and currently serves as the Chairperson of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He has been recognized as External Counsel of the Year in Asia by The Asian-MENA In-House Community Counsels in 2019, and cited as a Next Generation Lawyer for Corporate and M&A by Legal 500 for 2017 and 2018. He was also a 2018 Bench and Bar Awardee of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ Leyte Chapter. He was awarded Young Lawyer of the Year by Asian Legal Business Philippine Law Awards 2020 and as a Leading Individual in Capital Markets by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020 to 2022. He was awarded Client Choice Awards for Competition by Lexology 2021. Charles studied Law at the UP College of Law (cum laude and class valedictorian) and EU Competition Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2017. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
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