The Philippines has climbed four notches to 99th place out of 190 economies in the 2017 World Bank-International Finance Corporation Doing Business Report.
In its latest edition, the Washington-based lender’s report, “Doing Business: Equal Opportunity for All”, showed that the country has improved its performance, after falling eight places to 103rd in the 2016 report.
The annual report measures regulatory quality and efficiency based on 10 indicators applied to regulations concerning ease of doing business in the life cycle of a business. These pillars are 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 Philippines advanced in four of ten indicators. Gains were seen in protecting minority Investors, up 18 places from 155th to 137th; dealing with construction permits, up 14 spots from 99th to 85th, paying taxes, up 11 places from 126th to 115th, and enforcing contracts, up four ranks from 140th to 136th.
It takes 114 hours to complete an export cycle, slightly higher than the 105 hours in the 2016 report. Of the total, 72 days is spent for documentary compliance and 42 hours for border compliance.
The report noted two improvements in the Philippines, one of which is making easier dealing with construction permits by increasing the transparency of building regulations. The other is making payment of taxes easier by introducing an online system for filing and paying health contributions and by allowing for the online corporate income tax and value-added tax returns to be completed offline.
Slight declines, meanwhile, were registered in getting credit, down nine places from 109th to 118th; starting a business, down six points from 165th to 171st; getting electricity, down three places from 19th to 22nd; and resolving insolvency, down three ranks from 53rd to 56th. The country recorded no change in two indicators, registering property and trading across borders at 112th and 95th, respectively.
Import, export performance
According to the report, it takes 114 hours to complete an export cycle, slightly higher than the 105 hours in the 2016 report. Of the total, 72 days is spent for documentary compliance and 42 hours for border compliance.
Export costs also declined to US$509 from $890 in the previous report. Of the total, $53 is spent for documentary compliance while $456 is for border compliance.
For imports, it takes 168 hours to complete compliance, likewise a slight improvement from 170 hours in the 2016 report. Of the total, it takes 96 hours for documentary compliance and another 72 hours for border compliance. Import costs now total $630, a huge drop from $1,011 last year. Of the total, $50 is spent on documentary compliance and $580 for border compliance.
“Simple rules that are easy to follow are a sign that a government treats its citizens with respect. They yield direct economic benefits—more entrepreneurship; more market opportunities for women; more adherence to the rule of law,” WB chief economist and senior vice president Paul Romer said in a statement.
“But we should also remember that being treated with respect is something that people value for its own sake and that a government that fails to treat its citizens this way will lose its ability to lead,” he added.
Aside from the Philippines, four other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Thailand—all saw upgrades.
The 2017 report’s top 10 countries in terms of ease of doing business are New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Norway, United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, and Macedonia.
Data for the Philippine report was collected between February and May 2016 with the data cut-off date set at May 31, 2016 using Quezon City to represent the Philippines.
Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
