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Philippines: Quisumbing Torres Publishes Guide to Developing and Operating Data Centers in the Philippines

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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:

  • Foreign investment controls
  • Data (i.e., privacy, telecommunications laws, cybersecurity, data localization, antitrust)
  • Tax
  • M&A
  • Financing
  • Sustainability
  • Real estate

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Author

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.

Author

Divina Ilas-Panganiban, CIPM is a partner and the head of 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, and the Asia Pacific Intellectual Property Steering Committees.
Divina is a Certified Information Privacy Manager by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). She currently serves as the Vice-President and Director of the Philippine Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society International, the Regional Vice-chair of the LESI's Education Committee, the Co-chairperson of the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights of The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and the Chairperson of the IAPP KnowledgeNet Chapter for the Philippines.
Divina was recently appointed to be a member of the Advisory Council for Intellectual Property (ACIP) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). The ACIP is an advisory board composed of a select group of people from different sector to which IP is of great value. She was recently recognized in the Hall of Fame for Best External Lecturers by the IP Academy of the IPOPHL.
Divina just finished her stint as the chair the Unreal Campaign of the International Trademarks Association (INTA) for East Asia and the Pacific and continues to organize anti-counterfeiting activities in schools and universities around the country, educating the youth about the importance of intellectual property protection.
Divina is a multi-awarded lawyer with a stellar track record in the IP, data and technology fields. She has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including the Woman Lawyer of the Year by the ALB Philippine Law Awards 2023. She has been cited as leading lawyer for intellectual Property and TMT by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Chambers Asia Pacific, Managing IP, World Trademark, Asialaw and IAM Patent 1000, among others. Known for her exceptional legal expertise and unwavering commitment to her clients, Divina has established herself as a leader in her profession.

Author

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.

Author

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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