Philippines Ranks 3rd Globally in Intangible Investment Growth

The Philippines has emerged as the world’s third fastest-growing economy for intangible investments, according to a report from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The World Intangible Investment Highlights 2026, published by WIPO in collaboration with Luiss Business School, revealed that the Philippines posted a 4.6 percent growth in intangible investment from 2021 to 2022. India led the rankings with a 7.9 percent growth rate, followed by Japan with a 4.8 percent expansion. This marks the first time the Philippines has been included in the WIPO report, which this year covered 29 economies. Between 2012 and 2022, the Philippines’ real intangible investments grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9 percent, surpassing the global average of 3.5 percent. In 2022, the Philippines generated $49.1 billion in intangible investments. Intangible assets encompass organizational knowledge, research and development (R&D), software and data, brands, design, and other forms of intellectual property. Teodoro Pascua, director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), stated that these findings come at a pivotal moment as the Philippines embarks on a new chapter as an upper-middle income economy. He emphasized that strengthening knowledge-based assets is now the challenge for long-term competitiveness. "The experience of advanced economies shows that sustained investments in knowledge, technology, and IP become the strongest drivers of productivity and growth. As the Philippines enters upper-middle income status, our rapid gains in R&D, software, and brands show that we are paving the way toward that future and that we must reinforce the foundations through innovation-enabling IP policies and programs," Pascua said. Marco Alemán, WIPO assistant director general for the IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, underscored the fundamental role of IP in enabling businesses and economies to capture the value of intangible assets. "These are precisely the assets that intellectual property protects and turns into value, and the report brings various forms of measured and unmeasured intangible assets into view for policymakers and businesses, featuring countries of different levels of development," he added.