China and the Philippines Franchise Opportunities

New year, new opportunities. Given the current warming relationship between China and the Philippines, it will come to no surprise that trade relations between the two countries will grow even more in the coming years. As visa restrictions eases between the two nations, opportunities are abound for those who are quick enough to seize it.

During my recent trip to China, I was given the opportunity to explore some areas of the country. There really is a huge potential for Filipino brands to do extremely well in the Chinese market, as well as some Chinese brands that can be imported to the Philippines. With the country's pivot to Asia, our status as a member of ASEAN will come more into play as regional integration picks up steam. Many business opportunities will present itself in the coming days, weeks, months and years ahead. So if you are thinking of starting your own business, better start making plans. Truly, its an exciting time to be an entrepreneur.  

Financing Your Business

Whether you are doing business for years or just starting up, or no matter how big or small your enterprise gets, there comes a time when your working capital would not be enough to sufficiently finance your operations, when that happens, you might need to borrow some money. But where can you find someone who would lend to you? Well basically, it boils down to the following:

1. Borrow from your friends or relatives
2. Borrow from a bank
3. Borrow from a non-bank financing institution like lending companies
4. Borrow from private lenders that charge interest rates bordering on usurious like the infamous five sixers 

Out of all these options, only one will happily lend to you with reasonable interest rates and is highly monitored and regulated by the government, and that is your friendly neighborhood bank. All rural, thrift, savings, commercial and universal banks offer a form of business loan for the budding or savvy entrepreneur. There are a lot of banks competing for your business in the Philippines, so looking for one that offers the best fit for you is easy.

But if you are like me, you would want a way to check how much you can loan, what is your monthly amortization, what are the required documents and basically any questions that you can think of from the comfort of your home and in front of your computer online. Then the best bank for the job is BPI Family Bank and their Ka-Negosyo program which you can visit here,

No other local bank comes close to their online facility, where you yourself  can determine by mixing and matching how much you can loan and the payback term until it fits your situation with just a few click of your mouse button though their online loan calculator. So obtaining a loan from a bank is relatively quick and easy (provided you meet their requirements) without the  hassle of putting yourself in an awkward situation with family and friends or having to pay high interest rates from non-bank lenders.