Hi Steve, and welcome to the forum.
You might like to consider some sort of 'hospitality' based business, such as a restaurant, perhaps later combining with rooms to let.
This way you would be able to rent/lease premises and keep your investment to a minimum while finding your feet (and testing your relationship).
Unless you have the sort of experience of life in the Phils and the sort of capital to invest that Fred did, I would keep the majority of your assets safely back home.
