The Philippines has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in intangible investment, highlighting the country’s growing emphasis on innovation, technology and intellectual property as key drivers of long-term economic growth, according to a new report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The third edition of the World Intangible Investment Highlights (WIIH), published by WIPO in collaboration with Luiss Business School (LBS), estimated that the Philippines generated US$49.1 billion in intangible investments in 2022. The country recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9 percent in real intangible investment from 2012 to 2022, outpacing the global average of 3.5 percent.

The report also showed that the Philippines posted the third-fastest growth in intangible investment among the 29 economies surveyed based on the latest available data, trailing only India and Japan and ranking ahead of the United States. Although investment growth briefly slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the country rebounded strongly with a 4.6 percent increase between 2021 and 2022.

WIPO described intangible assets – including research and development (R&D), software, data, brands, organizational know-how, design and other intellectual property – as increasingly critical to economic competitiveness despite remaining undermeasured in many economies.

Globally, investment in intangible assets has been expanding at nearly three times the pace of tangible investment, reflecting the growing shift of many economies toward knowledge-driven growth. In 2025, the 29 economies covered in the report, representing 57 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), collectively surpassed US$10 trillion in intangible investment for the first time, with the United States, Japan and Germany accounting for the largest investment volumes.

The Philippines recorded particularly strong gains in innovation-related assets. Investment in R&D grew at a CAGR of 20.1 percent from 2012 to 2022, the fastest among all intangible asset categories in the country. Software and databases followed closely with an 18.3 percent CAGR, making the Philippines the fastest-growing economy globally in that category.

While R&D and software together accounted for about 15 percent of the country’s total intangible investment, spending on these assets expanded dramatically over the decade. R&D investment increased more than sixfold, while investment in software and databases grew more than fivefold, reflecting the country's accelerating transition toward a technology- and innovation-driven economy.

Organizational capital remained the Philippines’ largest intangible asset, representing 48.3 percent of total investment, followed by brands at 28.9 percent.

The report also highlighted the growing strategic importance of brands in an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Across the 29 economies studied, investment in brands reached US$1.4 trillion. The Philippines ranked among the world’s top 12 economies in brand investment, with an estimated US$14.2 billion.

Despite the strong growth in intangible assets, the report noted that tangible investment continues to dominate the Philippine economy. Tangible investments accounted for about 20 percent of GDP, while intangible investments represented 4.4 percent, a pattern typical of middle-income economies that continue to prioritize infrastructure and capital formation alongside investments in knowledge assets.

Speaking during the report’s launch in Geneva on July 8, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines director general Teodoro C. Pascua said the findings come at a pivotal point as the country begins its transition to upper-middle-income status.

“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 programmes,” Pascua said.

Marco M. Alemán, WIPO assistant director general for the IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, said intellectual property remains central to helping businesses 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.”

The 2026 edition of the World Intangible Investment Highlights also marks the Philippines’ first inclusion in the report, reflecting growing international recognition of the country’s expanding knowledge-based economy.

- Asia IP