The Philippines surged 29 notches to the 95th rank in World Bank’s (WB) “Doing Business 2020” Report released in October, indicating the regulatory environment in the country is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
The Southeast Asian nation improved on its prior 124th ranking in 2018 for “ease of doing business” out of 190 economies evaluated in the 17th edition of the World Bank annual report released October 24.
The Philippine economy was given a score of 62.8 in 2019 from 60.9 in 2018 in the Washington-based multilateral lender’s annual report that investigates a country’s regulations pertaining to conducting business. The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators.
These 10 topics covered include: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. The indicator for employing workers and contracting with the government were not used in the latest ranking.
Data in Doing Business 2020 are current as of May 1, 2019 and investigated 25 locations in the Philippines.
The World Bank report notes the following improvements in the Philippines which account for the higher score:
- the abolition of the minimum capital requirement for domestic companies.
- made dealing with construction permits easier by improving coordination
- streamlining the process for obtaining an occupancy certificate
“The Philippines strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater disclosure of transactions with interested parties and enhancing director liability for transactions with interested parties,” World Bank report stated.
In 2018, the World Bank named the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economy. In 2019, the Philippines was ranked 3rd Best Country to Invest in by CEO World with investments coming in, among them, Marriott hotels’ tripled expansion.
SEND cheers in the comments below to the Philippine business sector and leaders as the country secures a higher rank!
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