Yes, doing business is getting more and more fun in the Philippines, a recent global report showed.
Governance reforms are seen to have boosted the country's competitiveness this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said Wednesday, noting however that "many weaknesses remain to be addressed."
The Philippines ranked 65th out of 144 countries in the WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2012, up from being 75th out of 142 countries in the 2011 list.
"Ranked 65th, the Philippines is one of the countries showing the most improvement in this year's edition. Indeed, it has advanced 22 places since reaching its lowest mark in 2009," the report said.
This marks three consecutive years of improved global competitiveness for the Philippines. It ranked 85th in 2010 and 87th in 2009.
The country, however, remained behind most of its Southeast Asian neighbors in this year's list.
The Philippines is the third least competitive country in ASEAN based on the report, lagging behind Singapore, which ranked second globally; Malaysia;, 25th; Brunei, 28th; Thailand, 38th; and Indonesia, 50th.
Only Vietnam (75th) and Cambodia (85th) were below the Philippines in the list.
The Philippines has a Global Competitiveness Index score of 4.23 points in the report, which the WEF said "aims to mirror the business operating environment and competitiveness of over 140 economies worldwide."
The Philippines posted gains in 11 out of the 12 "pillars of competitiveness."
Improvements in public institutions highly contributed to the rise in rankings this year, the report said, as the Philippines jumped 23 places to ranking 94th in this area in 2012.
"The perception is that corruption and red tape are finally being addressed decisively, even though they remain pervasive," the WEF said.
The country also posted improvements in infrastructure; macroeconomic environments; higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labor market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation.
Where PH should improve
The only competitiveness pillar in which the Philippines did not improve is health and primary education. It slid six places in this area to ranking 98th.
This pillar includes life expectancy, where the country ranked 102nd; infant mortality, 91st; and primary education enrollment rate, 101st, among others.
The WEF added: "The country's infrastructure is still in a dire state, particularly with respect to sea (120th) and air transport (112th), with little or no progress achieved to date."
Various market inefficiencies and rigidities also continue, it said further, particularly pointing to the Philippine's ranking in labor market efficiency (103rd).
Commenting on the report, Guillermo Luz, private sector co-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, said the "back-to-back gains" reflected the result of efforts from both government and the private sector.
He noted, however, that "much remains to be done," especially on the business transaction side.
The Philippines performed poorly in terms of number of procedures to start a business, burden of customs procedures, and other business process-related indicators, he said.
This, even as the government launched early this year the Philippine Business Registry System, which aims to streamline business registration processes.
"Work in progress no longer counts," Luz said.
"They (WEF) look for accomplishments and completion," he added.
By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
Governance reforms are seen to have boosted the country's competitiveness this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said Wednesday, noting however that "many weaknesses remain to be addressed."
The Philippines ranked 65th out of 144 countries in the WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2012, up from being 75th out of 142 countries in the 2011 list.
"Ranked 65th, the Philippines is one of the countries showing the most improvement in this year's edition. Indeed, it has advanced 22 places since reaching its lowest mark in 2009," the report said.
This marks three consecutive years of improved global competitiveness for the Philippines. It ranked 85th in 2010 and 87th in 2009.
The country, however, remained behind most of its Southeast Asian neighbors in this year's list.
The Philippines is the third least competitive country in ASEAN based on the report, lagging behind Singapore, which ranked second globally; Malaysia;, 25th; Brunei, 28th; Thailand, 38th; and Indonesia, 50th.
Only Vietnam (75th) and Cambodia (85th) were below the Philippines in the list.
The Philippines has a Global Competitiveness Index score of 4.23 points in the report, which the WEF said "aims to mirror the business operating environment and competitiveness of over 140 economies worldwide."
The Philippines posted gains in 11 out of the 12 "pillars of competitiveness."
Improvements in public institutions highly contributed to the rise in rankings this year, the report said, as the Philippines jumped 23 places to ranking 94th in this area in 2012.
"The perception is that corruption and red tape are finally being addressed decisively, even though they remain pervasive," the WEF said.
The country also posted improvements in infrastructure; macroeconomic environments; higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labor market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation.
Where PH should improve
The only competitiveness pillar in which the Philippines did not improve is health and primary education. It slid six places in this area to ranking 98th.
This pillar includes life expectancy, where the country ranked 102nd; infant mortality, 91st; and primary education enrollment rate, 101st, among others.
The WEF added: "The country's infrastructure is still in a dire state, particularly with respect to sea (120th) and air transport (112th), with little or no progress achieved to date."
Various market inefficiencies and rigidities also continue, it said further, particularly pointing to the Philippine's ranking in labor market efficiency (103rd).
Commenting on the report, Guillermo Luz, private sector co-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, said the "back-to-back gains" reflected the result of efforts from both government and the private sector.
He noted, however, that "much remains to be done," especially on the business transaction side.
The Philippines performed poorly in terms of number of procedures to start a business, burden of customs procedures, and other business process-related indicators, he said.
This, even as the government launched early this year the Philippine Business Registry System, which aims to streamline business registration processes.
"Work in progress no longer counts," Luz said.
"They (WEF) look for accomplishments and completion," he added.
By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
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