The Philippines Country Risk Report August 2025

Highlights include

Political Risks

Beijing expressed strong diplomatic and military concerns about US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's visit to Manila. Beijing's core concerns, according to the Diplomat publication, specifically focus on deepening Philippines-US military cooperation, which includes increasing combat-oriented joint military exercises, enhanced arms sales, and strategic military deployments.

Economic Risks

The Philippines received more favourable treatment than some other Southeast Asian countries after President Trump initially imposed a tariff of 17% on the country in April, later pausing the tariffs for 90 days. However, in July, Trump imposed a rate of 19% for goods from the Philippines after a meeting with President Marcos in Washington while Manila has agreed to remove all its tariffs on American goods.

Technology Risks

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming the norm in Philippine-based companies, according to PwC's 2025 Global CEO Survey. PwC added that top officials at these corporations are also facing the challenge of having to upskill their workers to remain competitive and catch up with technological advancements.

ESG Risks

In January, the government announced it had entered into a significant partnership with Masdar, the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned renewable energy company, to develop a $15 billion renewable energy project. The project will involve building solar, wind, and battery energy storage systems capable of generating up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of clean power by 2030, with plans to expand capacity to 10 GW by 2035.

Find out more details about the recent developments and impacts on political, economic, commercial, ESG risks, Technology risks, and the latest economic data, in the August edition of The Philippines country risk report