Despite reforms, PH 124th in ease of doing business

The Philippines’ ranking in the ease of doing business fell to 124th this year from 113th last year among 190 countries covered by an annual World Bank report, even though the country’s score improved slightly due to recent reforms.

The report, “Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform,” released on Wednesday night showed the Philippines, represented by Quezon City, garnering a score of 57.68 from a possible perfect score of 100.

That was 1.06 points higher than its score last year. [A smaller figure means a higher ranking.]

Ranked better

Six of the Philippines’ fellow members in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ranked better, with Singapore placing second, Malaysia 15th, Thailand 27th, Brunei Darussalam 55th, Vietnam 69th and Indonesia 73rd.

The World Bank this year said it used “a score indicating an economy’s position to the best regulatory practice.”

The Philippines last year obtained a score of 58.74 under a different scoring system, called “distance to frontier,” which measured how far an economy was from the best performing economy.

Processes simplified

This year, the country ranked 166th in starting a business; 94th in dealing with construction permits; 29th in getting electricity; 116th in registering property; 184th in getting credit; 132nd in protecting minority investors; 94th in paying taxes; 104th in trading across borders; 151st in enforcing contracts; and 63rd in resolving insolvency.

While the Philippines “made starting a business easier by simplifying tax registration and business licensing processes,” the World Bank lamented that the country hiked tax registration costs.

The World Bank said there was improvement in the construction sector’s risk management practices.