Attractive prospects: The Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator business is a growing sector in the country.
WHY are Chinese nationals as young as 35 retiring in droves and choosing the Philippines as their retirement home? What would make them give up gainful work in the prime of their lives, and prematurely decamp to a country that is worlds away from the might and sophistication of their superpower nation, now the second biggest economy in the world and poised to overtake the United States?
Those questions are being asked in light of a disturbing revelation by Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) general manager Bienvenido Chy in a Senate budget hearing last Monday: that almost 28,000 young Chinese tourists have settled in the country as retirees, taking advantage of a PRA policy that approves the entry of foreign retirees as young as 35 as long as they have at least US$50,000 (P2.5mil/RM208,000) cash on hand. Although the policy applies to other foreign nationals, PRA data show that about 40% of all foreign retirees are Chinese, at 27,678, followed by Koreans, at 14,200.
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