PH ranking in ‘ease of doing business’ slips

The Ayala central business district. The Philippines slipped two notches in the global rankings of the ease in doing business due to the absence of significant reforms, according to the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2013” report. PHOTO FROM AYALALAND.COM.PH

While many positive developments have been happening to the country and the economy since the Aquino administration took over in 2010, the area of how easy—or how difficult—it is to do business in the Philippines deserves more government attention.

The Philippines slipped two notches in the global rankings of the ease in doing business—to 138th from 136th—due to the absence of significant reforms to speed up dealings of enterprises with various government agencies.

The “Doing Business 2013” report, published by the World Bank and its investment arm, International Finance Corp., and released Tuesday, showed that the Philippines registered slightly poorer rankings in almost all categories related to the ease in doing business in the period covering June 2011 to June 2012 compared with those recorded in the previous one-year period.

The report said the Philippines’ performance essentially was unchanged, explaining that the two-notch fall was due to the entry of two more countries in the global rankings. There were 185 countries covered in the latest survey following the entry of Barbados and Malta.

“While the Philippines continues to improve its macroeconomic environment and sets pace-setting growth in gross domestic product, it lags in the implementation of regulatory reforms that would make it easier for local entrepreneurs to conduct their businesses,” the report said.

Except for Laos, which ranked 163rd, all other Southeast Asian countries beat the Philippines in the ease in doing business rankings.

Singapore again grabbed the top spot, being recognized by the World Bank and IFC as having the most favorable environment in the world in terms of helping enterprises do business. Malaysia ranked 12th; Vietnam, 99th; Brunei Darussalam, 79th; Indonesia, 128th, and Cambodia, 133rd.

Countries were ranked according to various factors or categories affecting the ease in doing business. For instance, the “starting business” category indicated how long it took for an enterprise to start operations, how many procedures it had to undergo and how many documentary requirements it had to accomplish.

The following were the categories where the Philippines registered a drop in rankings: starting a business (from 158th to 161st), getting electricity (from 53rd to 57th), registering property (from 120th to 122nd), getting credit (from 127th to 129th), protecting investors (from 124th to 128th), paying taxes (from 136th to 143rd), and enforcing contracts (from 109th to 111th).