The Foreign Investment Act requires the publication of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) every two years, which outlines sectors in which foreign investment is restricted. According to List B of the 2022 FINL, up to 40% foreign equity is allowed in micro and small domestic market enterprises with paid-in equity capital of less than the equivalent of USD 200,000 and micro and small domestic market enterprises that involve advanced technology or are endorsed as startup or startup enablers by state agencies; or those whose majority of direct employees are Filipinos provided that their Filipino employees should not be less than 15, and with a paid-in equity capital of less than the equivalent of USD 100,000.

The Foreign Investment Act requires the publication of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) every two years, which outlines sectors in which foreign investment is restricted. According to List A of the 2022 FINL, advertising is limited to 30% foreign equity.

Section 4 of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RA 11232) mandates a residency requirement for select corporate officers, namely the treasurer and the secretary.

Section 142 of the Corporations Act establishes that a foreign corporation applying for a license to transact business in the Philippines shall submit to the Commission the address, including the street number, of the principal office of the corporation in the country or State of incorporation; the name and address of its resident agent authorised to accept summons and process in all legal proceedings and all notices affecting the corporation, pending the establishment of a local office; and the place in the Philippines where the corporation intends to operate.

According to Section 33 of the Republic Act No. 8293, an applicant who is not a resident of the Philippines must appoint and maintain a resident agent or representative in the Philippines upon whom notice or process for judicial or administrative procedure relating to the application for patent or the patent may be served.

The Philippines is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Foreign bidders are only eligible to participate when: (i) allowed under any treaty or international or executive agreement; (ii) the foreign bidder is a citizen, corporation or association of a country whose laws or regulations grant reciprocal rights to citizens, corporations, or associations of the Philippines; (iii) the goods sought to be procured are not available from local suppliers; or (iv) there is a need to prevent situations that defeat competition or restrain trade.

Under Section 4.4 of Annex B the 2016 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), foreign consultants must transfer their technology and knowledge to be eligible for public procurement contracts. This requirement mandates that "technology and knowledge transfer to the procuring entity shall be required in the provision of consulting services, where applicable." This provision has been in effect since the introduction of the first IRR in 2003 in Section 24.5.4.

Sections 23.5.1.1 and 24.3.1 of the 2016 Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184 provide that partnerships, corporations, and joint ventures with at least 60% Filipino ownership are considered eligible bidders for public procurement of goods and services. However, the procurement of infrastructure projects is more restrictive, which can discourage foreign contractors from participating in digital infrastructure, such as cloud services. Foreign contractors (those with less than 75% Filipino ownership) are allowed only when provided for under any treaty or international or executive agreement or if they form a joint venture with local contractors (Subsection 23.4.2). These provisions have been in force since the first Implementing Rules and Regulations of 2003.

It is reported that in November 2020, the Pakistan government banned online payments from India for the subscription of electronic media content as part of the capabilities offered by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002. In practice, this restriction impacts the provision of electronic media content.

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is PKR 5,000 (approx. USD 20), below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

According to Art. 7.6 of the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2021, "Significant Social Media Companies" shall: (i) appoint a grievance officer based in Pakistan; (ii) appoint a compliance officer (iii) establish an office in Pakistan with physical address preferably located in Islamabad. According to Art. 2 of the law, a Significant Social Media Company means and includes a Social Media Company with more than half a million users in Pakistan or is on the list specially notified by the Authority for this purpose from time to time

Pakistan lacks a comprehesive framework for consumer protection that applies to online transactions. Nevertheless, several regional laws apply, including the Islamabad Consumer Protection Act (1995), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Consumer Protection Act (1997), the Balochistan Consumer Protection Act (2003), and the Punjab Consumers Protection Act (2005).

Pakistan has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.